Converging Pathways
by Isil'zha BLZ
Summary: How would things have played out if Zuko and Jet had remained friends for a little longer? And what would have happened if Jet hadn't died?
1. The Serpent's Pass

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace. As a tourist!" Iroh turned and grinned at his nephew.

Zuko did not look amused. "Look around. We're not tourists, we're refugees."

It had taken some work, but after all their misadventures throughout the Earth Kingdom, they had finally managed to get onto a boat headed for Ba Sing Se. Zuko had initially been concerned over the need for a passport, but thanks to Iroh's…friends, (Zuko was still annoyed that his uncle was keeping him in the dark about whatever that was) it had proved to not be an issue.

And now they were on their way, but Zuko still wasn't particularly satisfied with their situation.

Trying to distract himself from unpleasant thoughts, he tried eating some of his rations, only to immediately spit it back out in disgust.

"I'm sick of eating rotten food. Sleeping in the dirt." He leaned onto the railing and closed his eyes. "I'm tired of living like this."

"Aren't we all?"

Zuko turned to see who had spoken, and found himself looking at a young man who looked about his age, with dark brown hair and a confident, slightly cocky expression on his face.

"My name's Jet, and these are my freedom fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot." Jet gestured at his two companions.

"Hey" said Smellerbee. Longshot nodded silently.

Turning back to face the sea, Zuko muttered "Hello."

"Here's the deal." Jet said, walking closer. "I hear the captain's eating like a king while us refugees have to feed off scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What sort of king is he eating like?" asked Iroh curiously.

"The fat happy kind." Jet replied.

Iroh expression changed to one of hunger, and he began drooling slightly.

Turning back to Zuko, Jet asked. "You wanna help us liberate some food?"

Zuko looked down at his bowl of sludgy food. He knew that getting better food wouldn't solve his problems, but at least it would be a start, and it would be better than just moping. He threw the bowl over the side of the ship.

"I'm in." he said.

Jet gave a satisfied smile.

* * *

Later that night, they made their stealthy attack. Zuko, Jet, and Smellerbee were at the bottom of the stairs, hidden in the shadows, and waited for the guard to pass. As soon as he was gone, they quickly moved up the stairs and onto the upper floor, and headed to the kitchen. After double checking to make sure no one was around, Jet stuck the tip of his blade into the kitchen door and wedged it open, making a small clanging noise. After verifying that no one was inside, they got to work. Using his hook swords, Jet cut down a bunch of hanging meat and collected it into a bag, while Zuko carefully gathered up some rice meals and put them into another bag. Their labors completed, Jet and Zuko exchanged a look of satisfaction.

_I'm not sure what kind of person Lee is, _Jet thought,_ but he seems reliable, and we seem to make a good team._

"Guards coming!" Smellerbee whispered.

Without any hesitation, they quickly but quietly fled from the kitchen and ran to the edge of the railing. They looked down, where they saw Longshot waiting for them. As soon as he saw them, he fired an arrow with a rope tied to it onto the railing, and within seconds the bags and the 3 young robin hoods slid down to safety.

A short time later, Jet passed the fruits of their efforts around to some of the other refugees. Zuko, Smellerbee, and Longshot settled down next to Iroh, and began to enjoy their meal.

"So." Iroh said. "Smellerbee. That's an unusual name for a young man."

"Maybe it's because I'm not a man." Smellerbee said irritably. "I'm a girl." Abruptly she got up and stalked away.

"Oh, now I see." Iroh said, looking apologetic. "It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!"

Longshot got up and walked after her.

Iroh and Zuko had gone back to their meal when Jet walked back to join them.

"From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se." Jet said. "I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall."

Jet had heard rumors about Ba Sing Se's massive walls all his life, but he never thought he'd actually get to see them one day.

_Though, _he thought grimly,_ the circumstances which led me to going to Ba Sing Se were not the most ideal._

"It is a magnificent sight." Iroh said quietly.

"So you've been there before?" Jet asked.

"Once." Iroh said seriously. "When I was a…different man."

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of." Jet admitted quietly. "But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se. For a new beginning, a second chance."

"That's very noble of you." Iroh said. "I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances." He glanced at Zuko meaningfully.

Jet pondered what the look could mean.

* * *

Zuko was alone at the helm, staring ahead into the fog.

He wasn't sure what to think. He still hated the idea of going to Ba Sing Se, and hated the fact that he would probably never be able to fulfill his destiny now. But still, the previous night had been…nice. It had been pleasant to be working with someone else, knowing that they trusted him, and he them.

He knew that he could count on his uncle, but he was family, so that bond was just natural. Being able to rely on an outsider, that was a different matter entirely.

_Still, _he thought grimly,_ the last time I tried to open up to other people, it didn't end well. If I try to befriend Jet, will it end any differently?_

He heard someone come up behind him, and out of his peripherals could tell that it was Jet.

"You know, as soon as I saw your scar I knew exactly who you were."

Zuko glanced cautiously at Jet.

"You're an outcast. Like me. And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs, because no one else will."

Jet glanced down at the water.

Zuko relaxed slightly.

"I've realized lately." Zuko responded. "That being on your own isn't always the best path."

_Even if things don't work out, _Zuko thought,_ perhaps it's still right to try. In all the uncertainty of my life right now, at the very least it would be nice to have a friend, even if for only a little while._

They shared in a quiet companionship as the massive walls of Ba Sing Se loomed into view across the murky waters.

* * *

Authors note: I always thought it was incredibly clever how they reintroduced Jet in Season 2. The dynamic between Jet and Zuko was really interesting, and had a ton of potential. Which was why it really pissed me off when they threw all that potential down the toilet in the very next episode, and ended up reducing Jet into little more than a cheap plot device that was disposed of as soon as he wasn't needed any more. So this story is going to be what I think should have happened instead.


	2. The Drill

"So." The booth lady said in an irritated voice. "Mister Lee and Mister, uh, mushy, is it?"

"It's pronounced Mushi" Iroh corrected.

"You telling me how to do my job?" She replied.

"Uh, no, no." Iroh leaned forward. "But may I just say you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating." Iroh said flatteringly.

The lady's expression softened. "Hmm, you're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Rarr. Welcome to Ba Sing Se." She then stamped the two tickets.

Iroh collected the tickets and turned to his nephew with a slightly gleeful expression.

"I'm gonna forget I saw that." Zuko grumbled as he took his ticket.

As Iroh and Zuko walked ahead into the station, Jet watched them from farther back in the line.

"I think Lee would make a good freedom fighter." He said. "He's just trying to find his way in the world. Like us."

_Like me,_ Jet thought.

"You don't know anything about him, Jet." Smellerbee replied.

"I know he didn't get that scar from a waterbender." Jet countered.

Lee's scar had been the thing that had drawn Jet. That scar alone told him that Lee must have suffered some hardships, and had also had to struggle in order to survive in a cruel, uncaring world.

_Perhaps we can help each other move forward, _Jet thought._ I don't know what his struggles may have been, and he may not want to tell me, but I think we can still understand one another._

"Besides, I thought we were going straight now." Smellerbee added.

"We are." Jet responded. "And the new freedom fighters could use a guy like Lee. What do you think Longshot?"

Longshot stared quietly at Jet.

"I can respect that." Jet said.

* * *

Zuko was sitting next to his uncle, lost in thought, when he noticed Jet came up beside him and asked. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

Zuko nodded silently, and the two of them walked a few paces away from Iroh.

"You and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together. You want to join the freedom fighters?"

Zuko looked momentarily surprised, but then his expression became more reserved. "Thanks, but I'm not sure that you would want me in your gang."

Zuko had decided that he would like Jet as a friend or an acquaintance, but he wasn't sure he wanted to become too involved with anyone else.

"Come on, we made a great team looting the captain's food." Jet replied. "Think of all the good we could do for all these refugees."

"I don't know." Zuko said, looking at the ground. "Whenever I try to help people, it never seems to work out the way I wanted it to."

He thought about the boy he had saved back in the Earth Kingdom village, and fought to keep his face neutral.

Jet's expression softened. "I know what you mean. The freedom fighters were once a lot bigger than they are now, but I used to let my hatred of the fire nation cloud my judgment. Me and the gang used to do a lot to mess with them, but after a while we began to hurt innocent people. At the time, it didn't seem to matter, but eventually someone snapped some sense into me. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but I'm really glad they did. It helped me to realize how messed up I was."

Jet coughed. "As I said before, that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, to try to turn over a new leaf, and to try to help people instead of hurting people."

Zuko remained silent.

_Whatever he did can't be any worse than some of the things I did while chasing the Avatar._ Zuko thought, reflecting on some of his less than noble deeds.

_I wouldn't regret them so much if I had succeeded in capturing him, but…_

Jet interrupted his thoughts. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you get that scar?"

Zuko remained quiet for a moment, then haltingly said. "I…got it because I made a mistake. A mistake that I've been trying to correct ever since. For a while, I had a plan for what I was going to do, and it seemed like it would work, but…after a while, it just all fell apart." He sighed. "And now, I don't even really know what I'm doing, except trying to find refuge against the Fire Nation."

Knowing that he was running away from his home country, and might spend the rest of his life hiding behind the walls of Ba Sing Se was a bitter pill to swallow. But telling Jet his plight, even if it was in necessarily vague terms, surprisingly felt right, and eased some of the weight on him.

Jet looked thoughtful. "You know, you don't have to let that scar define you. It might never go away, but it can't define who you are unless you let it."

Zuko looked sharply at Jet.

_Perhaps he understands me better than I thought. I should be careful, though. If he finds out too much…_

Jet smiled. "So, what do you say? Want to join the freedom fighters?"

Zuko remained silent for a moment, and then his expression relaxed slightly.

"All right."

Jet looked satisfied. "Great! Well, I'll see you later."

As Jet walked off, Zuko remained where he was standing for a minute, then shook himself and walked back to where his uncle was sitting.

"So." Iroh said shrewdly, with a small smile on his face. "It looks like you've made a new friend."

Zuko remained silent for a moment, then said quietly. "Yes, I suppose I have."

* * *

Authors note: Just as a heads up, this story won't be deviating too far away from the canon. As such, while a lot of things will change, a lot of things will still be the same. Consequently, I'll try to avoid being redundant, and focus on the scenes that differ from the canon. So if I don't put in a certain scene, assume that it played out more or less the same as in the canon.

If you liked this, let me know why. If you hated this, also let me know why. I appreciate any and all feedback, provided it's constructive.


	3. City of Walls and Secrets

Zuko and Iroh were walking down the streets of Ba Sing Se, headed back to their apartment. Their apartment was nothing extravagant, but after weeks of camping outside and sleeping in whatever uncomfortable environment they could find, it was a definite improvement, though still not back to where Zuko would have wanted to be.

Feeling slightly exacerbated, Zuko noticed that his uncle had purchased a vase of flowers.

Observing his nephew's look, Iroh smiled slyly.

"I just want our new place to look nice, in case someone brings home a lady friend." Iroh said teasingly.

Zuko grunted. "This city feels like a prison. I'm not sure if I want to make a life here."

"Life happens wherever you are." Iroh replied sagely. "Whether you make it or not. Now come on, I found us some new jobs, and we start this afternoon."

"Hey, Lee!" Zuko turned, and saw that Jet was calling to him from several yards back in the street.

He raised his hand in greeting. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the way things were turning out for him, but he felt surprisingly good about having befriended Jet. Maybe it was just because it had been so long since he'd been close to anyone other than his uncle. In fact, if he thought about it, he wasn't sure he'd ever really had a friend before.

Except maybe for Mai…

But he couldn't think about her. He _wouldn't_ think about her.

Iroh turned to Zuko, and said "I'll go on ahead. But don't take too long. Remember, we start work this afternoon." Still smiling, Iroh faced forward and continued up the street.

Jet walked up to Zuko. "So, you guys settled in all right?"

Zuko nodded. "What about you guys?"

"Yeah." Jet's smile faded slightly. "It's a bit cramped, but it's better than nothing."

Noticing Jet's expression, Zuko asked. "So, what's up?"

Jet's face became serious. "Remember how I said as Freedom Fighters we could do a lot of good for these refugees?"

Zuko nodded.

"Well, I wanted to turn over a new leaf when we came to Ba Sing Se, and so I want to do things the right, proper way. I mean, we did steal from that greedy captain, but that was just for the voyage to Ba Sing Se. Stealing things from those who are well off and giving to those who need help isn't really a practical long term solution, so I tried to find any official organizations that we could join to help the refugees while still working within the law." Jet grimaced. "The only problem, is that there really aren't any."

Zuko looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

Jet looked around, and gestured for Zuko to step off to the side of the road. Once they had walked off the main path, Jet continued in a more hushed voice.

"From asking around, it appears that the government does very little to help those coming in from the outside. They have the basic courtesy of helping people get inside the walls, but once they're here, they're on their own. There are a handful of organizations run by some local temples and charities that do what they can, but there are simply too many refugees for them to help."

Jet clenched his fist.

"There's something fishy going on with all of this. A lot of people don't even acknowledge the refugees, and talking about them or the war is considered taboo."

Zuko blinked. "How can that be? Trying to hide the war with the Fire Nation would be a difficult feat."

"I know, but that still seems to be the way things are."

Zuko was silent for a minute. He then asked "What do you think we should do?"

Jet smiled grimly. "I think we need to get to the bottom of what's going on with this city, if you know what I mean."

Zuko suspected he knew what Jet meant.

"All the official organizations have their headquarters in the Upper Ring." Jet said. "So I think we should sneak up there, at night, to see what we're dealing with."

Zuko was silent for a moment. He knew that this was a very risky harebrained scheme that could have deadly consequences if it went wrong.

On the other hand, he had infiltrated high security places before, and it would be something more interesting to do than sitting around and serving tea.

Zuko glanced towards the Upper Ring, then back at Jet. "When would we do it?"

"I looked at some announcements, and it appears that the Earth King is holding a big party in a few days. The Upper Ring will be busy with activity, so that will be our best chance to slip in unnoticed."

Jet looked at Zuko carefully. "So, are you in?"

_Well, when have I ever played it safe?_ Zuko thought. He nodded. "I'm in. We'll have to meet later to discuss the details. I'm not entirely sure how late my uncle will keep me working, and I don't want him to know about what we've planned."

Jet nodded. "I'll swing by your place later, and we'll work out the details between now and the party."

Zuko smiled slightly. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Throughout the rest of the week, Zuko felt a rush of nervous energy, and while he normally would have been irritated with spending his days doing nothing but serving tea, he hardly noticed it, and the week seemed to melt away in no time.

His uncle had briefly asked him about his conversation with Jet, but Zuko had deflected the questions and changed the subject, and his uncle had been prudent enough to not pursue the issue.

He had met with Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot several nights after his uncle had gone to sleep, and discussed their plans. There were a number of risks, as they didn't have a complete knowledge of the city, but Jet seemed confident that nothing would go wrong. Zuko was less optimistic, but didn't comment.

On the final night of the week, when the shop had been closed up, and Zuko had gone back to the apartment with his uncle, the rush of nervous energy became hard to contain. It felt agonizing to wait for his uncle to settle down to sleep, and then to wait for a little while to make sure he was asleep. But before long the time came, and as Iroh's first snores pierced the air, Zuko glanced out the window, and saw the dark outline of a young man waiting in the shadows of the street below, and knew that it was Jet.

Being careful not to make any noise, Zuko crept to the window, climbed down the wall, and made his way over to where Jet was.

Jet whispered. "Nice outfit. You really blend into the shadows. Where'd you get it?"

"Long story." Zuko whispered back. He was wearing the black clothes he used for his blue spirit outfit, though he had decided to forgo the mask, as he wanted to avoid any potentially incriminating questions it might raise.

Smellerbee and Longshot stepped out of the shadows, and Zuko nodded to them in greeting.

"So, are we ready?" Zuko asked.

Jet gave a quick nod. "Follow me."

From there they made their way across the city, jumping from roof top to roof top like a pack of stealthy cats, and avoided alerting any guards or setting off any alarms with ease.

Once they neared the wall that separated the Lower Ring from the Middle Ring, things became a little more complicated. Though they had brought some rope, these walls were too high to climb, and so they instead searched for a gate that had a low amount of guards. After finding one, Longshot knocked over some crates in a nearby alley way to create a distraction, and the other three slipped through.

They travelled through the Middle Ring in the same way they had through the Upper Ring, only this time they had to be more careful, as they noticed a higher number of patrolling guards in the streets. After some time, they reached the wall that separated the Middle Ring from the Upper Ring. From asking around, they had heard that it was not nearly as high as the wall that separated the Middle Ring and the Lower Ring. Upon seeing it, they could tell that this was true, but the wall still seemed very massive.

After searching for a spot along the wall that seemed deserted, Jet used the hilts of his hook swords to climb the wall. He went quickly, and made sure to not look down. Once he was at the top, he lowered down the rope for Zuko and Smellerbee to climb up. Once all three were up, Smellerbee lowered the rope down the other side of the wall, and stayed behind while Zuko and Jet climbed down.

Now inside the Upper Ring, their task became more difficult. With all of the activity surrounding the party at the palace, there were many people and carts moving out and about, and while the guards were too busy with managing the guests to notice the two intruders, avoiding being spotted by everyone took every ounce of stealth and caution the pair of them had.

Eventually, they came to the palace, and edged their way to a section that was near the main entrance, but far enough away to avoid any guards. They quickly began to climb their way up onto the roof, and Zuko heard snatches of conversations of the nearby guests.

"Look, the Pangs and the Yum Soon Hans are waiting in there for us. I'm going to have to tell them who…"

Zuko's foot slipped on the wall, and had to focus his efforts to keep from falling. Jet looked down at Zuko in concern, but Zuko silently motioned that he was fine.

Once on the roof, they crept their way to the right wing of the palace, making sure to avoid the area where the party was going on. After the noise had subsided, they slipped in through a window, and carefully made their way down a hallway, checking for any offices that might hold something useful.

Zuko was now starting to regret his decision to agree to Jet's plan.

_This isn't any crazier than when I rescued the Avatar from Zhao, but at least then, I knew exactly where he would be held, and how to get away. Here, we have no clear idea of where we're going, and we might be caught at any time._

He glanced at his swords, then at Jet's. _Hopefully he'll be useful in a fight if things go wrong._

After several tense moments, they found a door labeled Office of Cultural Affairs #003.

"This might be it." Jet whispered. He tested the door, and found that it was locked, but quickly remedied that. The two of them slipped inside and closed the door behind them.

Looking around, they saw that the room was rather cluttered. The desk in the center of the room was stacked with piles of paper, and there was a series of stone cabinets of varying sizes on the wall off to the left. To the right was a large closet that appeared to contain office supplies.

Walking towards the desk, Zuko found his eyes drawn to a poster resting on the top of the piles. He picked it up and found himself looking at the symbol of the Earth Kingdom, and underneath it was the phrase:

THERE IS NO WAR IN BA SING SE.

Zuko raised his eyebrows, and Jet, looking over Zuko's shoulder, murmured. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Zuko could respond, both of them tensed up as they heard a sound that made their blood run cold; the sound of footsteps drawing nearer to the room.

_Crap,_ Zuko thought, _I knew something like this would happen._

Zuko quickly tossed the poster back onto the desk, grabbed Jet, hissed "In here" and dragged him into the closet, and closed the door behind them, leaving only a sliver of a crack open.

He was only just in time. Mere seconds after they had taken refuge, the door to the office opened, and a man garbed in a green Earth Nation uniform walked in.

The man looked like he was in his 30s, with dark hair and smooth, well shaven features, and a confident step to his walk. At the moment he was scowling, as though he was having a bad day.

The man frowned, and glanced back at the door. "Odd. I thought I locked it."

Zuko held his breath, and felt Jet tense up next to him, as the two of them prepared for the worst.

But the man seemed to decide that it was nothing, walked over to the desk and sat down, and began to peruse through the stacks of papers with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Figures." The man muttered. "The big hotshot goes off to attend a party and once again leaves me with all of the paper work for the day." He shifted some of the papers, and began jotting down something, but Zuko couldn't tell what it was.

_Great,_ Zuko thought. _There's no telling how long he'll be here. And there's a good chance he'll need something from this supply closet, and then we'll be discovered._

Suddenly the door burst open, and another, younger man strode in.

The man sitting at the desk looked up sharply, then relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Ah, Xishan." The man at the desk said. "Here to file another report? It's rather late in the day, you know. You ought to have filed it in earlier."

"Yes, Jingwei, I mean, sir" Xishan said nervously. "But my evening shift in the Lower Ring went rather late." He handed over a slip of paper to Jingwei.

Jingwei looked at the slip, and let out a snort. "More influxes of refugees, I see."

Xishan nodded. "Yes sir."

Zuko found himself listening with interest, and could tell from the slight way that Jet shifted that he was as well.

"And several more counts of people being…corrected for mentioning the war."

Xishan nodded. "Yes sir."

Zuko felt a slight chill in the pit of his stomach. _What exactly does that mean?_ He thought darkly.

Jingwei shook his head in disgust. "I honestly don't know what Long Feng hopes to achieve by retaining this ridiculous policy of forbidding knowledge and talk of the war. Everyone in the Lower Ring can easily figure out where the refugees are coming from, and everyone in the Upper Ring has access to resources that clearly reveal the truth about the outside world. Only the clueless middle class in the Middle Ring might be fooled, and even that's doubtful. The only ones who are ignorant are those who choose to be."

_So,_ Zuko thought, _it's not just a taboo to mention the war, it's an actual government policy to keep everyone in the dark. Still, it sounds like not everyone is in the dark, and not everyone on the inside necessarily agrees with it._

Xishan shifted nervously. "Sir, you realize such talk could get you in trouble."

"Oh, very likely." Jingwei said dismissively. "I don't go around in public saying such things, and I do what I'm told, but that doesn't mean I won't question the folly of it all in the security of my office."

Xishan said tentatively "But, surely it's better this way? If the public knew about the war, they might panic."

"If they don't know about the war, they will soon enough." Jingwei said with a sigh. "Concealing the truth may prevent a panic, but it'll only delay the inevitable."

Xishan asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the war will soon be over. Any hope of victory is long gone. With the fall of Omashu, there are no other Earth Kingdom strongholds left, and Sozin's comet will return in a few months. It's not a question of if, but when."

Zuko felt his heart sink. He'd forgotten all about Sozin's comet. If the stories he'd been told were true, the strength of the Firebenders on the day of the comet's return would be too great even for the mighty walls of Ba Sing Se. And if even an Earth Kingdom official felt that the war against the Fire Nation was futile, things must really be bad outside the walls.

_Hopefully we can remain hidden among all these refugees, even if the Fire Nation defeats Ba Sing Se. Assuming they don't burn the city to the ground, that is…_

Xishan glanced down. "Sir, you could get in trouble…"

"Why, is telling the truth such a crime these days?" Jingwei smiled grimly. "Besides, I'm too important to get rid of. Long Feng may think he runs the whole show now, but its people like us who actually do the mundane, everyday tasks required to run this city."

Xishan glanced back up. "But, sir, it's surely the Earth King who is technically in charge."

"Oh please." Jingwei shook his head. "It's not like that figurehead has ever done anything of note. He's never even left the palace, for goodness sake. No, it's the Dai Li who runs the city now, and even those who don't realize just how redundant the king is know it."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. _So,_ he pondered, _the king has no real power at all. He's just a puppet for this Dai Li organization, whoever they are. Well, we found out some useful information like we planned. Now, if only they would leave…_

Jingwei glanced back down at the papers. "I'd rather not dwell on politics. Since you're here, would you mind grabbing me another bottle of ink from the supply closet over there?"

Xishan nodded slowly. "Yes sir."

Zuko froze, and watched with creeping horror as the Earth Kingdom man slowly walked to where they were hiding.

Zuko knew they would have to fight their way out. He gripped his swords, and out of his peripherals could tell that Jet had done the same.

Just as Xishan reached for the handle of the door, Zuko threw the door open, making it smash into Xishan's arm and causing the man to cry out in pain. Before he could recover, Zuko leaped at him, knocked him to the ground, and hit him on the head with the hilt of one of his swords. The man's body went limp as he fell unconscious.

Jet followed closely behind him, and once out of the closet immediately went after Jingwei. Jingwei, however, had recovered extremely quickly from the sudden appearance of the two intruders, and shot a quick succession of small boulders he'd apparently kept inside his uniform. Jet was just as quick, and blocked every single one with a series of quick swipes and cuts from his hook swords. Jingwei wasn't done, however, and without pausing immediately raised a small boulder from the floor in front of him and lobbed it at Jet. This time, Jet was not fast enough to catch or dodge the projectile, and the boulder caught him in the chest and threw him across the room. Jet gave a grunt of pain when his body hit the wall, but somehow managed to remain standing.

Jingwei raised a second boulder, but before he could do anything, Zuko hooked his two swords into the underside of the desk, and upended the desk and all of the papers onto the Earth Kingdom official. Before Jingwei could extricate himself from the mess, Zuko and Jet fled from the room.

They ducked out of the nearest window and made it a little ways away from the palace before the alarm was raised, but once it was, they found themselves running for their lives, as countless numbers of Dai Li agents were hot in pursuit. The more open and less crowded way the buildings were organized in the Upper Ring made it impossible to lose their pursuers, but they managed to gain a fair amount of ground until they neared the wall separating the Upper Ring and the Middle Ring.

To their relief, they found that Smellerbee had already lowered the rope for them to climb up the wall, and they wasted no time in doing so. It only took them a handful of minutes to climb up the wall and then back down on the other side, but that was enough time for them to lose the ground they'd gained. By the time they were back on solid ground, the Dai Li was once again hot on their tails.

The more cluttered and closed in streets of the Middle Ring made it easier to remain ahead of their pursuers, but they still had no time to relax, and had to keep running.

After a few minutes of running, they found themselves facing a dead end. The wall wasn't very high, so they knew they could easily climb it, but before they could, two Dai Li agents caught up with them and cornered them.

The three of them prepared to fight, but before any of them could move, an arrow whizzed out of the darkness and knocked one of the Dai Li agents out cold. When the second agent turned in surprise at his unconscious partner, a second arrow descended and knocked him out as well.

"Longshot must have heard the alarm and come to help us." Jet said. "He shouldn't have, but I'm glad he did."

Without losing any more time, they climbed over the wall, and continued to run. However, more Dai Li agents remained right behind them, and it became clear that they weren't going to lose them anytime soon.

After ducking into a dark alleyway when they finally felt it was safe enough to pause, Jet turned to face two friends.

"Listen, there's no way we're going to get away clean if we continue like this. We need to separate. You two head back to the Lower Ring, I'll distract them and lead them away. I'm pretty sure I can lose them eventually. And if not, at least some of us will get away."

Zuko protested. "I can't let you do that. Who knows what they might do to you if you get caught."

"There isn't any other way." Jet shot back. "It's a risk I'm willing to take, and I'm willing to take it for my friends."

Zuko paused. He hadn't realized just how much Jet's friendship had started to mean to him. And now that he might lose it…

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Jet smiled. "Trust me."

Zuko hesitated, then relented. "All right. But promise me you won't get caught, all right?"

"No problem." Jet responded. Jet clapped Zuko on the shoulder, nodded to Smellerbee, and then ducked out of the alleyway.

Zuko and Smellerbee climbed onto the roof of a nearby building. Once there, Zuko turned to Smellerbee and said. "I don't care what Jet said, we can't just abandon him."

Smellerbee nodded. "What's the plan?"

Zuko glanced down the streets. "Since the Dai Li will be focusing their efforts on Jet, we can sneak across the rooftops and assist him in similar ways like how Longshot assisted us."

"Sounds like a good plan." Smellerbee replied. "Well, let's get going."

And so the chase continued. By creating minor distractions and diversions, Zuko, Smellerbee, and Longshot gave Jet an edge and enabled him to stay a few steps ahead of the Dai Li.

Eventually, though, their luck ran out, and when Jet tried to slip through one of the main squares, he was ambushed by no less than 10 Dai Li agents. Using a series of rock gloves, they quickly immobilized Jet, and surrounded him.

Observing Jet's capture from a nearby rooftop, Smellerbee's head drooped, and Zuko felt his body shaking with frustration.

_Not again,_ he thought savagely. _I can't lose again!_

And yet he knew there was nothing he could do. There were far too many Dai Li agents, and attempting to fight would render Jet's sacrifice meaningless. All he could do was watch helplessly as Jet was dragged away into the creeping shadows of Ba Sing Se.

* * *

After several tense hours, Zuko, Smellerbee, and Longshot managed to make it back into the Lower Ring. They went their separate ways, and Zuko made his way back to his apartment. After carefully sneaking back in, and taking care to not wake his uncle, he changed out of his black clothes and collapsed into bed.

_I don't know why I expected any differently._ Zuko thought miserably. _Every time things seem to be going well for me, the universe takes it all away again._

He shifted onto his side. _Having Jet as a friend felt…right. It wasn't as good as having my honor and my throne restored would have been, but it was something. And the universe wouldn't even let me keep that one small thing._

He clenched his teeth and sighed. _And now, it looks like no matter how the war turns out, I lose. If the Fire Nation loses, I get to look forward to spending the rest of my life in this creepy, totalitarian city serving tea. If the Fire Nation wins, there's a good chance me and uncle will be discovered, and we'll be imprisoned or executed. And of the two outcomes, the second outcome seems the more likely. The only way the Fire Nation would lose at this point is if the Avatar…_

He growled and punched his pillow, and after wrestling with morbid thoughts for several more minutes sank into an uneasy sleep, temporarily freed from the oppressive weight of despair.


	4. Lake Laogai

"I'll provide you with a new apartment in the Upper Ring; the tea shop is yours to do whatever you want, complete creative freedom." The rich gentleman said.

"I even get to name the shop?" Iroh asked.

"Of course!" The gentleman said cheerfully.

"Senior executive assistant manager?" Pao said feebly.

Iroh handed his pot of tea to Pao, and bowed to the gentleman as Pao walked off miserably.

As Zuko walked by, Iroh said "Did you hear nephew? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the Upper Ring of the city!"

"That's right young man." The gentleman said. "Your life is about to change for the better."

"I'll try to contain my joy." Zuko said sarcastically. He set down his tray, stalked outside and closed the door behind him.

Ever since Jet had been taken away by the Dai Li, Zuko had felt miserable. He spent most of his days serving tea, which he found unbearably boring, and depressing, hopeless thoughts plagued him constantly.

The only really bright moment he could remember had been his date with Jin. He'd made a fool of himself, but she hadn't seemed to mind, and his evening with her had admittedly been quite nice. But then he remembered how nice his companionship with Jet had been, and had resolved to avoid anything to do with Jin thereafter, as he didn't want to get attached to her only for the universe to play yet another cruel trick on him.

He shook himself, trying to avoid the same train of thought he'd already been through before when he noticed a series of papers floating down from the sky.

He caught one, and his eyes widened when he saw what was on it. He quickly looked up at the sky, and though he saw nothing, he knew one thing for certain.

_The Avatar has returned._

* * *

Jet had been surprised to find Aang, Katara, and Sokka again, but he had felt that he owed it to them to try to help them find Appa, since he'd behaved rather badly the last time they'd met.

Meeting up with Smellerbee and Longshot had also been unexpected, and he was even more surprised when they all seemed convinced that he had been brainwashed by the Dai Li.

But they were his friends, and he knew he could count on them, even if he wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

They had convened inside a small building, and were discussing what to do.

Katara said. "The Dai Li must have sent Jet to mislead us, and that janitor was part of their plot, too!"

Aang continued. "I bet they have Appa here in the city. Maybe he's in the same place they took Jet!" He pointed at Jet. "Where did they take you?"

"Nowhere!" Jet said anxiously. "I- I don't know what you're talking about!"

Jet felt extremely confused. He remembered coming to Ba Sing Se, but everything else was rather fuzzy in his head, and the more he tried to think about it, the more it slipped away.

Aang lifted his hand up to his chin. "We need to find a way to jog his real memories."

"Maybe Katara could kiss him." Sokka said teasingly. "That should bring something back!"

Katara shot Sokka a look. "Maybe you should kiss him, Sokka!"

"Hey, just an idea!" Sokka said with a small grin.

"A bad one." Aang muttered.

A moment of silence passed as they pondered other possible ideas.

Suddenly, Sokka interjected. "Ooh, wait! I've got it!"

Sokka then plucked a straw from the nearby mattress, and stuck it into Jet's mouth. He then stepped back and regarded Jet thoughtfully.

After a moment, Jet said "I don't think its working."

He spat out the straw.

Toph said. "Try to think of something from your past that triggers your emotions."

"The Fire Nation!" Smellerbee responded eagerly. "Remember what they did to your family!"

"Close your eyes." Katara ordered. "Picture it."

Jet obeyed, closed his eyes, and thought back to that day. He remembered the village going up in flames and the cold, cruel look of the Fire Nation soldier as he stood before the inferno. He remembered the tears streaming down his face and the big, gaping hole that had opened up inside of him as he realized that he would never see…

Jet's eyes flew open.

"No!" Jet cried, his face slick with sweat. "It's too painful!"

"Maybe this will help." Katara walked over, and put some soothing water around the sides of his head.

After a moment of concentration, a rush of images came back to Jet.

Jet exclaimed. "They took me to a headquarters under the water. Like a lake!"

"Wait!" Sokka interjected. "Remember what Joo Dee said? She said she went on vacation to Lake Laogai!"

"That's it!" Jet stood up. "Lake Laogai."

* * *

"You're mine now." Zuko said triumphantly.

It had taken some work, but he'd finally tracked down the Avatar's bison. Now it was only a matter of time before he figured out how to use the bison to get to the Avatar himself.

_Everything has seemed hopeless lately, _Zuko thought,_but now, things are finally going to come together for me._

As if to dispel this optimism, the door to the room slid open. Zuko whirled around and got into a fighting stance, only to freeze in shock.

"Uncle?"

"So, the Blue Spirit." Iroh said calmly. "I wonder who could be behind that mask…"

Zuko sighed, and took the mask off.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Iroh replied. "What do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?"

"First I have to get it out of here." Zuko said, glancing back at the animal.

"And then what?" Iroh replied angrily. "You never think these things through. This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole. You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!"

"I would have figured something out!" Zuko responded angrily.

"No!" Iroh shouted. "If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!"

Zuko let out an irritated sound, and said "I know my own destiny, Uncle."

"Is it your own destiny?" Iroh asked. "Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?"

"Stop it Uncle!" Zuko shouted. "I have to do this!"

Capturing the Avatar had been what had defined him for so long. And here was an opportunity to do just that. What else could he possibly do?

"I'm begging you, Prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions: Who are you? And what do you want?"

Zuko let out a frustrated yell and threw his swords to the ground.

* * *

"Long Feng is escaping!" Aang cried anxiously.

He and Jet broke away from the fight to pursue Long Feng, and chased him down the dark hallway he'd fled through.

Their attempt to infiltrate Lake Laogai unnoticed had been a failure, but if they could catch Long Feng, they might still be able to find Appa.

_I'm going to get back at him for tampering with my memory._ Jet thought savagely.

They rushed into the room at the end of the hallway, and at first they thought it was deserted. But then they heard the sound of earthbending, and turned to see Long Feng sealing the entrance.

"All right, Avatar, you've caused me enough problems." Long Feng said in an irritated tone. "This is your last chance...if you want your bison back."

Aang raised his glider angrily. "You do have Appa! Tell me where he is!"

"Agree to exit the city now," Long Feng said calmly. "and I'll waive all charges against you and allow you to leave with your lost pet."

Jet raised his hook swords into a fighting stance. "You're in no position to bargain."

"Am I not?" Long Feng said softly.

"You're definitely not!" Aang responded, also assuming a fighting stance.

"Jet," Long Feng said in an authoritative voice. "the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Jet's mind suddenly went blank. "I am honored to accept his invitation."

Without warning, Jet attacked Aang. Aang fended off his attacks, and looked at him with concern.

"Jet, it's me, Aang!" Aang dodged several more swipes from Jet. "You don't have to do this!"

"I'm afraid he no longer has a choice." Long Feng replied.

Jet continued his attempts at attacking Aang, who dodged them and used airbending to knock him back.

Aang persisted. "Jet, I'm your friend! Look inside your heart!"

"Do your duty, Jet!" Long Feng commanded.

Jet advanced toward Aang, but did not resume his attack.

"He can't make you do this!" Aang pleaded. "You're a Freedom Fighter!"

With those words, memories came flooding back to Jet. He remembered the day the Fire Nation burned down his village; meeting other kids who had suffered because of the Fire Nation; forming the freedom fighters and becoming their leader; leading them in their exploits against the Fire Nation; meeting Aang and his friends; forming a friendship with the obviously infatuated Katara; Sokka confronting him about his messed up priorities; deciding to go to Ba Sing Se, with Smellerbee and Longshot remaining at his side; meeting Lee, and forging a strong bond with him; being dragged away by the Dai Li…

It all came back, and with that last memory, his head cleared, and he remembered who he was, and what he needed to do.

Behind him, he heard Long Feng bark. "Do it! Do it now!"

He whirled around and hurled one of his swords at Long Feng. Long Feng effortlessly dodged it, however, and countered by earthbending an uplifted rock which struck Jet in the chest. Jet collapsed on the ground.

Aang gasped, and ran towards Jet as Long Feng earthbended his way up to a nearby pipe.

"Foolish boy." Long Feng muttered. "You've chosen your own demise." He then turned and disappeared.

Jet turned to Aang, and said "I'm sorry ... Aang."

Aang responded. "Don't be."

The entrance to the room, which had been sealed with earth, slid open to reveal the rest of the group. Their faces became alarmed as they rushed to Jet's side. After a moment of shocked silence, Katara whipped out her water and attempted to heal Jet's wounds.

"This isn't good." Katara murmured. "These wounds are too serious for me to heal. Unless…"

She reached into her bodice, and brought out a small, cone shaped vial.

"This is water from the spirit oasis at the north pole. It has special properties, so it should be able to save Jet, but…" she hesitated. "it's only good for a limited number of uses, and after that it becomes like normal water." She looked at Aang. "Do you think I should?"

Aang nodded. "He's our friend. We can't just let him die if we have something that can save him."

"…right." Katara uncapped the lid, brought out the little water, and put it on Jet's chest. It glowed, Jet gasped, and then the water returned to normal, and Jet relaxed.

Katara bent the water back into the vial, and asked Jet. "How do you feel?"

"Better." Jet replied, sitting up and placing his hand on his chest. "Much better, actually." He stood up, but then winced and clutched his chest. "I think there might still be some slight bruising. Still, though, you saved my life." Jet smiled at Katara. "Thanks."

Katara smiled slightly, then darted her gaze away.

"We need to find Appa." Aang said anxiously. "And we need to hurry."

"Aang, I think you'll have to go on without me." Jet said, wincing slightly as he took a step forward.

"You guys go ahead and find Appa." Smellerbee said. "We'll take care of Jet."

Aang looked like he wanted to protest, but resisted the urge. "Very well. Be careful guys."

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph went on ahead to find Appa, while Smellerbee and Longshot helped Jet, and the three of them found another way out of the dark depths of Lake Laogai.

* * *

Author's Note: Just as a quick note, I'm changing the rules about how the Spirit works a little bit. In my AU, it can be used a maximum of three times, after which it looses it's ability to heal. In this scenario, Katara used it the first time on Jet in Lake Laogai, the second time on Aang in the Crossroads of Destiny, and the third time on Zuko in the series finale.


	5. The Earth King

Iroh and Zuko made their way back to the apartment in silence. Iroh was smiling, and kept glancing at his nephew. Zuko, however, had a troubled, uncertain expression on his face, and continued to seem unaware of his surroundings.

When they reached the upper room of their apartment, Zuko walked into the room, while Iroh went to close the door behind them.

"You did the right thing." Iroh repeated encouragingly. "Letting the Avatar's bison go free."

"I don't feel right." Zuko responded weakly. After letting out a groan, Zuko swayed and fell forward, knocking over a vase and collapsing on the floor.

"Zuko!" Iroh cried in alarm. He quickly rushed over to help his nephew, checking on his condition. After determining that Zuko was not dying or injured, he carried him over to a mattress. Uncertain of what ailed Zuko, Iroh could only hope that his nephew would awaken soon.

* * *

Jet winced as pain shot through his chest. He touched his chest gingerly, feeling the bandages underneath his clothing.

"Does it still hurt Jet?" Smellerbee asked.

"A little." Jet replied.

It actually still hurt quite a lot, but he would live, and he didn't want his friends to worry too much.

Jet was lying on one of the mattresses in their small dwelling, with Smellerbee watching over him. Longshot had gone out to get some food and to keep a look out for any Dai Li agents in the area.

They'd made their way back to their dwelling without any major incidents, which was a relief given Jets injury. But they found it hard to relax, as they were worried about Aang, and whether he would be able to find Appa and get out of Lake Laogai alive.

_Hopefully Aang will be able to expose this Dai Li organization. _Jet thought._If he doesn't, we might be in a lot of trouble. Many of those Dai Li agents saw us clearly, and if they ever see us again…_

Jet was shaken from his thoughts by a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Smellerbee responded immediately.

Smellerbee opened the door, and Jet saw Aang and his friends standing in the doorway.

"Jet!" Aang exclaimed, walking inside.

"Aang!" Jet replied. "You guys are okay! Did you find Appa?"

"Yep!" Aang responded happily. "We also gave Long Feng his comeuppance."

Aang quickly explained how they had gained the Earth King's support, with Sokka and Toph occasionally adding in their input. Katara remained silent, her eyes roaming around the small dwelling, and Jet noticed that she seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

"Well," Jet said after Aang had finished. "I'm impressed. I know you're the Avatar, but even I didn't think you'd be able to turn things around this fast." Jet smiled. "You're really something else, you know that?"

Aang returned the smile. "Thanks." His expression became more concerned. "And what about you? Are you doing all right?"

"I'll be fine." Jet replied. "Katara patched me up really well. All that's left is for the leftover bruise to heal, and I'll be good as new."

"That's a relief." Aang said, looking relieved.

They chatted for a bit longer, with Aang and Sokka telling Jet about their plans for the following day, and Jet mentioning briefly how he, Smellerbee, and Longshot had ended up in Ba Sing Se.

During the conversation, Jet noticed Toph and Smellerbee talking rather animatedly off to the side. But the thing that caught his attention most was Katara, who was continuing to remain silent, and refused to look Jet in the eye.

"Well," Aang said after a while. "we'd better head back up to the palace. We need to get ready for tomorrow."

Jet nodded. "Right. Well, see you guys later."

"Bye Jet!" Aang said.

"Bye." Sokka said.

Aang, Sokka, and Toph headed for the door, but Katara remained where she was.

"You guys go on ahead without me." Katara said. "I want to check Jet's injury to make sure that it's healing properly."

Aang looked surprised, but then nodded. "Okay. See you back at the palace."

Aang, Sokka, and Toph walked out. Katara turned to Smellerbee.

"I'd like to do this alone with Jet, if that's all right." Katara said firmly.

Smellerbee looked suspiciously at Katara, then turned to look at Jet.

"Go." Jet replied. "I'll be okay."

Smellerbee hesitated, then slowly walked towards the doorway, opened the door, and walked out.

After Smellerbee's footsteps had faded, Jet looked carefully at Katara. "You didn't want to be alone with me to check my injury, did you?"

Katara shook her head. "No, I didn't. I wanted to talk to you about some things." Her expression became serious, and for the first time made eye contact with Jet.

Seeing her face clearly for the first time since she'd arrived, he could see a jumble of conflicting emotions. Gratitude, suspicion, uncertainty…she looked as though she was trying to make up her mind about exactly how she felt about the young freedom fighter.

"You helped us find Appa, and for that I'm grateful." Katara said slowly, as though weighing every word. "And through your actions, you have demonstrated that you are not the person you used to be."

Jet suddenly found it hard to maintain eye contact as he remembered what he used to be, and some of the things he'd done, but forced himself to keep his gaze steady.

"But…I'd still like to know…why you did what you did…and what made you change." Katara said, her words suddenly sounding unsteady, though her gaze remained sharp. She stopped speaking, clearly expecting an answer from Jet.

Jet sighed. "As I said before, I was a…troubled person. My entire family had been taken by the Fire Nation. I only survived because I met up with other people like me who had lost everything. We banded together, and vowed to do whatever we could to pay the Fire Nation back for what they'd done to us."

"Our cause felt righteous at first. But at some point, I let my anger get the better of me. As you saw, we began to do…morally questionable things. At the time, I didn't recognize that I'd crossed a line."

"But your brother saw it, and he called me out on it. Your arrival and his interference in particular forced me and the other freedom fighters to come to terms with what we'd been doing. It fractured the group, and in the end many people felt that, due to my behavior, I was no longer fit to lead the freedom fighters."

"After that, most of us went our separate ways. Only Smellerbee and Longshot stuck with me, and only because they saw how much I regretted my actions."

Jet paused. "I didn't appreciate it at the time, but I'm really glad that Sokka was willing to stand up to me."

Katara folded her hands together. "Why didn't you tell him that when he was here?"

Jet gave a bitter laugh. "It didn't come up. And sometimes it's hard enough to admit that you were wrong to yourself, much less to someone else." He glanced carefully at Katara. "But I was wrong. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Katara's expression softened slightly. "Thank you Jet. That's what I was hoping to hear from you."

She sighed. "I can tell that you really are sorry. But what you did, it…it really hurt me. It's not even what you planned to do to the village that hurt the most, it was the fact that you lied. You lied to us, and you lied to me, and I find that sort of thing very hard to forgive."

She glanced to the side. "But, you did help us, and it's clear that you've changed, so…I won't hold it against you anymore."

Jet nodded. "Thanks." He paused, then hesitantly asked. "What about us…do you think…"

Katara quickly shook her head. "No Jet. The fact is, the Jet I thought I liked was not the actual Jet, at least not at the time. I won't hold what you did to me against you, but I can't forget it either. So, no."

Jet nodded. He'd figured as much, but he'd wanted to be sure.

Katara cleared her throat. "Besides, I've grown…rather close to someone else."

Jet gave a wry smile. "It's Aang, isn't it?"

Katara's cheeks flushed slightly, but her gaze remained steady. After a brief pause, she slowly nodded.

"Well, he is the Avatar." Jet said. "And, if I may say so, he's a very lucky guy."

For the first time, a small smile appeared on Katara's face, and to Jet's relief Katara's demeanor finally relaxed.

"So, what are you planning to do once your injury is healed?" Katara asked briskly.

"Well, me, Smellerbee, and Longshot were going to try to help out other refugees." Jet replied. "I actually was planning to reconnect with a friend I met recently, a boy named Lee. Is there anything I or the others can do to help?"

"Not at the moment." Katara replied. "But…"

Katara pulled 2 papers out of her clothes.

"Here are two things that might help." Katara said, holding them up. The first paper was a vibrant green, the color of the Earth Kingdom, and was covered in official looking seals. The second paper looked plainer, and was much smaller.

"This is a pass that will allow you to get to the Upper Ring more easily." Katara said, pointing to the first paper. "Just show it to the guards at any of the gates, and you'll be allowed through. This" she continued, gesturing toward the second paper. "is the address of where we're staying. If you ever need to find us, look for us there."

Jet looked slightly surprised, but leaned forward, ignoring the pain in his chest, and accepted the papers.

"Thank you. I promise you won't regret trusting me this time."

Katara smiled. "I have a feeling I won't. Just don't prove me wrong, okay?"

Katara walked slowly towards the door. Turning back she said quietly, "Goodbye Jet" and then was gone.

Jet sighed. At least he was back on good terms with all of Aang's friends, but he'd nonetheless really botched things up the last time.

_Well, I have changed, _Jet thought, _so if I ever meet another girl like Katara, hopefully I won't scare her off._

Jet shook himself, and found his thoughts turning to Lee.

Jet remembered the conversations he'd had with Lee before their raid at the Earth Kingdom palace. After discussing their plans, Jet had tried to enquire more about Lee's past. While Lee had continued to avoid giving specific answers, Jet could surmise that Lee also had a checkered past, but that he was also trying to move on from it. It seemed that Lee, like Jet, had done things he regretted, but was trying to change.

_I wonder how he's doing._

* * *

Zuko opened his eyes. He hadn't had a restful night, and had been lying awake for some time. Feeling that he should do something, he slowly got up, careful to not wake his uncle, and walked to the bathroom.

He splashed water on his face, and looked at himself in the mirror, only to be shocked to see no scar, and an arrow tattoo on his head.

_No, _he thought wildly, _this can't be happening…_

Zuko woke with a jolt. He breathed heavily for a second, realizing it was just a dream. He slowly lifted his hand to his face to the place where his scar was. Upon feeling the scarred tissue, he closed his eyes, feeling a confused mixture of relief and regret.


	6. The Guru

Iroh was busy at the stove when he heard a noise. Turning around, he saw that his nephew had woken up.

"What's that smell?" Zuko asked.

"It's jook." Iroh replied. "I'm sure you wouldn't like it."

Zuko bent down to sniff the jook. "Actually, it smells delicious. I'd love a bowl, Uncle."

Iroh looked curiously at his nephew. "Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow."

"It's a new day." Zuko replied optimistically, smiling. He walked over to the table and sat down. "We've got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of your new tea shop. Things are looking up, Uncle."

Zuko began to eat. Iroh still felt puzzled, but he smiled, pleased by his nephew's new positive attitude.

* * *

Jet was walking up the street. Smellerbee and Longshot had wanted to come with him, but he insisted he could go alone. His injury had healed surprisingly quickly, and he only felt a slight twinge of pain every now and then. Now that he was feeling better, he was returning to the tea shop to find Lee.

_I've got a lot to tell him. Smellerbee said that he tried to stop me from being taken by the Dai Li, and I need to thank him for that. He'll also probably want to hear about how the Avatar has taken care of the Dai Li. And, maybe if I admit some of the things I did before I came to Ba Sing Se, and who I used to be, he'll feel more comfortable about telling me about his past. It can't be any worse than the things I did, and I'm curious to know more about him._

Jet's train of thought paused as he found himself in front of the tea shop. Without hesitating, he stepped inside.

To his surprise, the shop was almost empty, with only one customer sitting at one of the middle tables.

_What happened?_ Jet thought, feeling concerned. _Before, this place was almost always full, as Mushi's tea was quite excellent, and attracted a lot of customers. Does this mean…_

"Can I help you?"

Jet's thoughts were interrupted by Pao, who had appeared in front of him. Pao was smiling, but the smile looked forced.

"Um, yes, do you know where Lee and Mushi are?"

Pao's smile vanished immediately. "Bah!" He said bitterly. "They're both gone. Some rich gentlemen swooped in and gave them a brand new tea shop in the Upper Ring. Now my business has dried up, and is back to where it used to be."

He scowled. "It's not as though I blame them for taking this opportunity, but still…" He shook his head hopelessly.

Jet let out a small sigh of relief. _I was afraid that they'd been arrested or killed, but they just moved to the Upper Ring. That's a little inconvenient, but with the pass I got from Katara it shouldn't be a major problem._

"Do you know what the tea shop is called?"

Pao's scowl became more pronounced. "I think it's called the Jasmine Dragon. Now, if you're not going to order any tea here, I suggest you run along now."

Jet nodded and turned to leave. "Right, thank you."

"You're welcome." Pao said bitterly.

* * *

With the help of the pass Katara had given him, Jet was able to get into the Upper Ring much easier this time. After asking around, he managed to figure out where the Jasmine Dragon was located, and before long he found himself walking up the street to where it was.

_I think that's it up there._ Jet thought. _It's pretty big…_

But before he could think anything else, he stopped in his tracks as he saw Katara running up the street towards him, a panicked look on her face.

"Oh thank goodness you're here." Katara said, skidding to a halt in front of Jet.

"Katara?" Jet asked. "What…?"

"There's no time to explain." Katara said anxiously. "I've just found out that the Fire Nation has infiltrated Ba Sing Se."

Jet's eyes widened. "The Fire Nation's here?"

"Yes. Get the other Freedom Fighters and meet me back at our house. I need to warn the Earth King, and then I'll be back as soon as I can."

And without another word, Katara resumed running and tore past Jet.

Jet remained frozen where he was.

_The Fire Nation's in Ba Sing Se. And just when things were starting to turn around…well, I'd better do what Katara said, and get Smellerbee and Longshot._

Jet looked regretfully at the tea shop only a short distance away. _Sorry Lee, I guess I'll have to visit you some other time. Your uncle will probably be keeping you busy during the day, and we need to get back to Aang's house as quickly as possible. But I will see you sometime soon._

After letting out a small sigh, Jet quickly turned around and made his way back to the Lower Ring.

* * *

Katara ran until she'd made it back to the palace, and even then she continued to move quickly until she reached the Earth King's throne room.

To her relief, she saw Suki and the other Kyoshi warriors already there, though the Earth King was nowhere in sight.

Panting slightly, Katara came to a halt in front of the 3 warriors. "Thank goodness you're here, Suki. Something terrible is going on. The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city, I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle! We have to tell the Earth King right away!"

Suki stood up, and slowly walked forward.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be sure to let him know."

Recognizing the voice and noticing that the warrior's eyes were gold, Katara's stomach turned over.

_No,_ she thought, _we're too late…_

Katara reached for her water pouch, but before she could touch it the warrior to Azula's right leaped forward and quickly immobilized her. Katara toppled to the ground, unable to move, the contents of her water pouch spilling across the floor.

Azula and her two friends walked forward to stare at the immobilized Water tribe girl.

"So, Zuzu's in the city, too?" Azula smiled. "I think it's time for a family reunion."

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter's a bit short, but I need a little more time for the next part.

Next week: The Season 2 Finale! How will Jet react to discovering Zuko's true identity? What role will Jet's friendship play in Zuko's crossroads of destiny? Will Azula still be incredibly evil? (Spoiler alert: yes)


	7. The Crossroads of Destiny

"The Earth King and the Council of Five do not trust the Dai Li. They imprisoned your leader, Long Feng. Soon they will turn on all of you and eliminate you. Seizing power today is a matter of life and death."

Azula slowly walked forward towards the Dai Li agents.

"This coup must be swift and decisive. The Earth King and each of the five generals must be taken out simultaneously. Long Feng has placed you in my command while we overthrow the government."

She began to pace in front of the Dai Li agents, eyeing one who looked nervous.

"If I sense any disloyalty, any hesitation, any weakness at all, I will snuff it out. That is all."

The Dai Li agents dispersed, and Azula walked back toward her two friends.

"Nice speech Azula." Ty Lee said, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to Azula. "It was pretty and poetic, but also scary in a good way."

"Yeah," said Mai, looking amused. "I thought you were going to make that one guy pee his pants."

"Pardon me." The three girls turned around to see one of the Dai Li agents walking back towards them.

"Forgive the intrusion, I just wanted a quick word."

"Oh?" Azula said. "What about?"

"My name is Jingwei, and I am Long Feng's second in command."

Azula eyed the earth kingdom man with new interest.

"Go on."

"As I understand it, you are the Fire Nation princess, and you have agreed to help Long Feng overthrow the Earth King and assume control of Ba Sing Se in exchange for the Avatar."

"Yes, that is the general idea." Azula said. Her two friends remained silent, Ty Lee pouring a second cup of tea for herself.

"But I have a feeling that you're after more than the Avatar."

Azula watched Jingwei carefully. "I see. And what more do you think I'm after?"

"Well," Jingwei continued. "at the moment, you are in control of the Dai Li. If you should retain that control after the coup is over, the Fire Nation will have effectively conquered Ba Sing Se, am I right?"

A shrewd smile appeared on Azula's face. "You catch on quickly, don't you? So, are you here to stop me?"

"On the contrary," Jingwei smiled. "I'm here to pledge my loyalty to your cause."

Azula's eyebrows rose, and Ty Lee and Mai looked at Jingwei curiously.

"I've known for some time that the war against the Fire Nation was a futile effort." He continued. "Ba Sing Se will fall, one way or another. If I help you to conquer it from the inside, I can minimize casualties while also ensuring for myself a favorable relationship with the new regime."

"My, how pragmatic of you." Azula's smile broadened. "Do you think you can persuade other agents to follow your example?"

"I think so." Jingwei replied. "Long Feng is a fool, and it shouldn't be too difficult to convince the rest of the Dai Li to abandon him, not when they're already willing to overthrow their own king."

He glanced carefully at Azula. "You should know, Long Feng will probably attempt to dispose of you once he's gotten what he wants."

"But, if the Dai Li no longer answers to him, that shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

"No, it shouldn't." Jingwei bowed. "I look forward to the new order, your highness."

With that, Jingwei turned and walked away, making his way back up above ground.

"Well that was unexpected." Ty Lee said, taking a sip of her tea.

"You know, it could be a trick." Mai said thoughtfully. "He could have been lying to make you drop your guard."

"He wasn't." Azula said, a triumphant smile spreading across her lips. "We are one step closer to our ultimate goal."

* * *

Appa landed in front of the apartment, and Aang, Sokka, and Toph quickly dismounted and walked to the front door.

Based on Aang's vision, they knew Katara was in trouble, but the Earth King had assured them that everything was fine. Still feeling uneasy, they had decided to check back at their apartment to make sure.

Upon opening the front door, they were surprised to find, not Katara, but Jet, Longshot, and Smellerbee.

"Jet?" Aang asked, feeling bewildered. "What are you doing here?"

"Katara told us to meet here, and that she would be back as soon as she could, but she hasn't shown up. Do you know where she is?"

"No," Sokka replied, looking concerned. "We came here looking for her."

Jet began to look alarmed. "This is bad. The last time I saw her, she said that she'd found out that the Fire Nation had infiltrated Ba Sing Se, and she was going to warn the Earth King."

Aang, Sokka, and Toph's faces reflected Jet's alarm.

"The Fire Nation is here?" Sokka yelped.

"I knew it!" Aang said. "I knew Katara was in trouble!"

"So, what's the plan now?" Smellerbee asked.

Before anyone could answer her, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey there's someone at the door." Toph said unnecessarily. "Actually, I know who it is. It's an old friend of mine."

She walked over, and opened the door to reveal Iroh. "Glad to see you're okay."

Iroh looked seriously at the Avatar and his friends. "I need your help."

Aang and Sokka looked shocked, while Toph, Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot looked at ease.

"Mushi!" Jet exclaimed. "How are you? Where's Lee?"

"I'm afraid that's what I need your help with." Iroh replied.

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Aang asked, looking confusedly between Iroh, Toph, and Jet.

"I met him in the woods once, and knocked him down. Then he gave me tea and some very good advice." Toph said cheerfully.

"And I met him and his nephew Lee when we were on one of the refugee boats heading to Ba Sing Se." Jet replied, smiling slightly.

"Wait," Sokka said. "His nephew 'Lee'? Don't you know who this is?"

"What are you talking about?" Jet asked.

"Perhaps it would be best if I were to explain things." Iroh said calmly. "May I come in?"

Aang slowly nodded, and Iroh walked inside.

"First of all, princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se." Iroh said.

"She must have Katara!" Aang said seriously.

"She has also captured my nephew."

"Lee's been captured?" Jet said, looking concerned.

"Why do you keep saying Lee?" Sokka asked.

"What do you mean?" Jet replied, looking annoyed.

"Secondly," Iroh continued, "I am afraid that my nephew and I have not been entirely honest about who we are."

Jet turned sharply to face Iroh. "What?"

"My name is not Mushi, it is Iroh. And Lee's real name is Zuko. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

The color rapidly drained out of Jet's face.

"Well, then we'll work together to rescue Katara and Zuko." Aang said firmly.

"Hold on." Sokka interjected. "you lost me at Zuko."

"I know how you must feel about my nephew." Iroh said gravely. "But believe me when I tell you, there is good inside him."

"Good inside him isn't enough." Sokka objected. "Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay?"

"But he does have some good." Jet replied, though he still looked shaken. "I mean, when I was captured by the Dai Li, he tried to save me. And…he seemed…but… if he's Fire Nation…" Jet trailed off, looking troubled.

"Look guys," Aang said seriously. "Katara is in trouble. All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. We need to put aside our differences for the time being, as working together is our best bet."

After a pause, Sokka and Jet slowly nodded.

* * *

Within a short time, their plans were made, and they quickly headed off to the palace to stop the coup. Sokka, Toph, Smellerbee, and Longshot were going to protect and warn the Earth King, while Aang, Jet, and Iroh would attempt to find and rescue Katara and Zuko.

With Toph's help, they had found a series of old tunnels, and Aang was opening a way forward.

Aang and Iroh had drifted ahead and began to talk quietly, but Jet lagged behind slightly, his mind racing.

_I still can't wrap my mind around it…Lee, who isn't really Lee, is Zuko of the Fire Nation. That would be shocking enough, but he's the Fire Nation prince!_

_I remember now…I think he was banished because of a dispute with his father, and set out to capture the Avatar in order to regain his father's favor. And from what I've heard about him from Aang, he's done some really nasty things…_

_But then, I'm not exactly guiltless when it comes to doing questionable things. And between the fact that he was running away from the Fire Nation, and the fact that he's been imprisoned by his own sister, it appears that he isn't really loyal to the Fire Nation anymore…_

_But he was for a long time. And while I know now that lumping all Fire Nation people into one group is wrong, he isn't exactly an innocent bystander in this war. He's the prince, and he's actively contributed to the devastation the Fire Nation has caused…_

_But, he did seem like he was sincerely trying to redefine himself, and make the most out of the circumstances presented to him. I was attracted to him in the first place because he seemed like me, a young man with a checkered past who was trying to find his place in the world. I just never imagined that his past would be even more dubious than mine…_

_Well, at least I now know why he refused to give more specific answers to my questions. If he was sincere otherwise, though, he still might be worth keeping as a friend, even if he is the Fire Nation prince. At the very least, he tried to save me once, so I'll return the favor. I owe him that much, at least. _

Jet shook himself, resolving to suspend further analysis of the Fire Nation prince until he'd gotten a chance to speak with him again. He began to jog in order to catch up with Aang and Iroh.

* * *

"Get them all out of my sight."

While Azula's expression remained stern, she smirked inwardly. The Avatar's friends feeble attempt to stop the coup had really been amusing in how pathetic it was.

_Nice try,_ Azula thought, _but you can't change the outcome of this day. I've plotted out every move. Speaking of which…_

As soon as the Avatar's friends had been dragged away, Long Feng and several rows of Dai Li agents began walking towards the Earth King throne. Azula noticed Jingwei in the front row, and glanced at him carefully. Upon noticing her gaze, Jingwei gave a small nod, and Azula had to resist the urge to grin.

"Now's the part where I double cross you." Long Feng said smoothly. "Dai Li, arrest the Fire Nation princess."

None of the agents moved, and from the way the muscles in Jingwei's face were twitching, Azula could tell that he was also resisting the urge to grin.

Long Feng gave a confused look at his subordinates. "I said, arrest her."

Finding his orders once again ignored, Long Feng began to look irritated. "What is wrong with you?"

"It's because they haven't made up their minds." Azula said softly. "They're waiting to see how this is going to end."

"What are you talking about?" Long Feng asked, beginning to look worried.

"I can see your whole history in your eyes." Azula said, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. "You were born with nothing. So you had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with."

Jingwei allowed himself a small grin, which went unnoticed by Long Feng, as he continued to stare at the Fire Nation princess.

"The fact is, they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting on that throne, and which one is going to be bowing down. But I know. And you know."

Azula turned and sat down on the throne.

"Well?"

Long Feng continued to stare at Azula for a moment, as if debating what to do. Then, he closed his eyes, bowed his head, and kneeled down before Azula, conceding defeat.

"You've beaten me at my own game." Long Feng said bitterly.

"Don't flatter yourself." Azula scoffed. "You were never even a player."

She turned her gaze towards the row of Dai Li agents. "As Long Feng has demonstrated that he is untrustworthy, I am relieving him of his post. His second in command, Jingwei, will now assume control of the Dai Li."

There was a slight stir, and all of the agents looked surprised, except for Jingwei. He strode forward and kneeled in front of Azula in a similar manner to Long Feng, though he looked significantly happier than Long Feng.

"I am at your command, your highness."

"Very good." Azula said. "We still have a few more things to take care of before this day is over."

* * *

Zuko and Katara stood silently in their crystalline prison.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you before." Katara said apologetically.

"It doesn't matter." Zuko replied quietly.

"It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face."

"My face." Zuko reached up and touched his scar. "I see."

"No," Katara protested. "no, that's not what I meant."

"It's ok. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark."

Katara hesitated, then said. "Maybe you could be free of it."

"What?" Zuko turned quickly to look at Katara.

"I have healing abilities." Katara said.

Zuko looked away in disappointment. "It's a scar. It can't be healed."

Katara reached inside her shirt and brought out a small vial.

"This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole." Katara explained. "It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important. I don't know if it would work, but it did save Jet, so it might…"

"Wait." Zuko's eyes widened. "You know Jet?"

Before Katara could respond, a wall near them burst open, startling them. The dust soon cleared to reveal Aang, Iroh, and Jet.

"Aang!" Katara cried, running over and hugging him.

Aang looked momentarily happy, then glanced suspiciously at Zuko, who returned the glance, though his expression softened slightly when his uncle rushed over to hug him, only for his expression to become shocked when he noticed Jet.

"Aang, I knew you would come." Katara said happily.

"Uncle, I don't understand." Zuko said harshly. "What are you doing with the Avatar?"

"Saving you, that's what." Aang replied.

Zuko gave an angry grunt, before shifting his gaze to Jet, who was looking warily at Zuko.

"And you! You never told me you were friends with the Avatar!"

"Well, you never told me you were the Fire Nation prince!" Jet fired back, his expression becoming fierce.

"Enough!" Iroh said loudly. "You are both allowing your prejudices to cloud your judgment. But before you knew the details of each other's past, you still managed to become friends. You saw a kindred spirit in one another, a bond that can transcend the division of nations. It is time to decide whether you will allow petty hatred to rule your heart, or whether you will allow new friends to come from unexpected places."

Mollified by Iroh's words, Zuko and Jet slowly relaxed, though they still looked warily at each other.

Iroh turned to face his nephew. "Zuko, I think it's time we talked."

He then turned towards Aang. "Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you."

Aang bowed at Iroh, and quickly went back into the path he had made. Katara and Jet soon followed, though they each gave an uncertain, slightly hopeful glance at Zuko before disappearing into the shadow of the tunnel.

Zuko looked to the side. "Why Uncle?"

"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko." Iroh replied calmly. "You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good."

Zuko closed his eyes, but before he could think of a response, the ground underneath them shook, and a trail of crystals shot forward, imprisoning Iroh.

Zuko raised his arms, ready to defend himself, and saw what he was afraid of: Azula, accompanied by a single Dai Li agent.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," Azula descended in front of her brother. "but Zuko, Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?"

"Release him immediately!" Zuko demanded.

"It's not too late for you Zuko." Azula said calmly. "You can still redeem yourself."

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you." Iroh said earnestly.

"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle?" Azula retorted. "I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have your father's love. You will have everything you want."

Zuko remained silent, clearly tempted by Azula's offer.

"Zuko," Iroh said gravely. "I am begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want."

Zuko glanced at his uncle, then closed his eyes, clearly torn.

"You are free to choose." Azula said. "Come along Jingwei."

Azula and Jingwei walked past Zuko, and began to pursue the path the Avatar had taken. Zuko remained where he was, an inward battle raging on.

* * *

Aang, Katara, and Jet ran along, exiting the tunnel and entering into a larger cavern with an underground river.

Katara and Jet were busy thinking about their encounter with Zuko, and as such had been rather quiet since they'd left the two firebenders.

"We've got to get back to the others!" Aang cried, who was more concerned with what they needed to do next.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of fire rushing towards them. They quickly spun around, and Aang quickly created a wall of earth to ward off the attack. The blast destroyed the wall, but protected the three friends from harm.

After the dust cleared, they could see that their assailant was Azula, accompanied by Jingwei.

Without hesitating, Katara ran alongside the river and bent a large flow of water which she quickly threw at Azula. Azula countered with her own bending, and the clash of fire and water created a large amount of steam, obscuring the visibility of the cavern.

Aang, Katara, and Jet paused, uncertain of where the next attack would strike. Then, they heard the sound of rock moving, and Azula and Jingwei flew high into the air above them, heading for one of the stone pillars. As soon as they were clear of the steam, Azula launched a series of fireballs, while Jingwei threw several small rocks he'd kept inside his suit. Katara and Aang bent a tendril of water to block the fireballs, and Jet knocked the rocks aside with his hook swords.

Once Azula and Jingwei landed on the pillar, Aang used earthbending to collapse it. Azula and Jingwei, not expecting this, hastily leapt to the ground in front of the three friends. Everyone paused, as though contemplating the next move, when another blast of fire landed between Azula and Aang. Everyone turned to see who the newcomer was and found that it was Zuko, who stood in between the two groups.

Everything seemed to hang on that one moment, as Zuko flicked his eyes back and forth between Azula and Aang. Katara and Jet looked anxious, and for the first time that day, Azula and Jingwei looked nervous.

After a moment seemingly spent weighing each choice, Zuko turned his gaze back to the Avatar. Aang gasped, as though realizing what was about to happen.

Without warning, Zuko blasted a fireball at the Avatar. Aang easily blocked the move, but the damage had been done. Azula and Jingwei smiled in triumph, while Katara looked dismayed and Jet looked outraged. Neither of them could comment on Zuko's actions, though, as Azula and Jingwei resumed their attack, and Zuko continued his assault on the Avatar.

Zuko followed up his initial attack with a series of smaller fireballs. Aang easily blocked these as well, and sent a quick burst of air rushing towards the firebender. Caught off guard, Zuko was thrown several feet by the air current. However, he quickly recovered, dodged Aang's follow up attack, and forced Aang to retreat. Zuko continued to shoot a series of fireballs, and Aang leaped high onto the wall in order to avoid them. Seeing that weaker attacks would no longer work, Zuko sent a larger burst of fire rushing up towards the Avatar. Aang bent some crystals to block the blast, but the fire barreled right through them, momentarily stunning the young Avatar.

On the other side of the room, Jingwei was punting stones left and right, attempting to hit Jet, but Jet was managing to dodge or block every single one. Noticing his attack wasn't working, Jingwei thrust his hands into the ground and bent the floor around them, causing Jet to lose his balance. As fast as a striking snake, Jingwei bent a trail of jutting rocks towards Jet, who only barely managed roll out of the way in time. With Jet now out of his reach, Jingwei began bending stones towards his opponent again, and Jet began dodging again, circling around the earthbender.

In between these two fights raged the battle between water and fire. Having dodged one of Katara's attacks, Azula ran forward to counterattack, only to pause as Katara whipped up a stream of water and sent it rushing towards her. Azula stepped to the side, and the torrent of water just barely missed her, slicing off a lock of her hair as it passed.

Back near the entrance of the room, Zuko had conjured two fiery whips that forced Aang to continuously jump from wall to wall to avoid the fiery attack. After avoiding the whips for some time, Aang detached a chunk of rock from the ceiling, and sent it crashing to the ground. The collision left a massive impact, and sent Zuko flying across the room. Zuko landed on a slab of crystal with a grunt of pain, but managed to remain standing.

Now away from the Avatar, Zuko could see Katara and Azula fighting, and he could tell that his sister was in a bad situation. Katara had managed to immobilize Azula with her water tendrils, but before she could defeat the Fire Nation princess, Zuko slashed his arm through the air, and a blast of fire cut through the water, freeing Azula. Eying Zuko with gratitude, Azula shifted her gaze to the Avatar, who had emerged from the crater he had created, and ran towards him.

Before Zuko or Katara could react, Jet came sailing through the air, and landed on the floor next to Zuko with a grunt of pain, his torso covered with dirt. Jingwei walked towards the young ruffian with an air of triumph, but had to retreat to avoid a wave of water that Katara had sent towards him.

Zuko and Jet's gaze met, and for a second each froze. For a second only, and then Zuko had to sharply move his head back to avoid being hit by the ferocious swipe of Jet's hook sword.

"You told me you wanted to change!" Jet shouted, renewing his attack, though being careful to avoid Zuko's firebending. Zuko dodged the swords with ease, however, and glanced at Jet with a grim but calm look.

"I have changed." Zuko said quietly.

Jet's eyes widened in shock, and Zuko sent a blast of fire towards the young Freedom Fighter.

* * *

"That is a nice trick." Toph commented, before raising up a boulder and aiming it at Mai.

Mai didn't even flinch. "Just take the bear."

"Bosco!" The Earth King said happily.

"Now come on, we need to go!" Sokka said earnestly.

Soon, the Earth King, Sokka, Toph, Smellerbee, and Longshot were fleeing from the palace, hoping their friends were all right.

* * *

The rest of the fight went poorly for the three young friends. More Dai Li agents arrived, hopelessly outnumbering them. And just when Aang was about to turn the tide with the Avatar State, Azula caught him by surprise, ending any hope of victory with one fell swoop.

And now, Katara clutched Aang's limp and burned body, tears streaming down her face and a look of despair dampening her features. Jet stood beside her, his hook swords raised, a look of hatred on his face as he stared at the two firebenders walking towards them.

But before any of them could make a move, a stream of fire hit the area in between the two groups, and Iroh jumped in, his stance defensive, and placed himself between the three young friends and their attackers.

"You've got to get out of here!" He said earnestly. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Shocked by this interference, but also grateful, Katara and Jet helped carry Aang towards the waterfall.

Once at the waterfall, Jet turned towards Katara.

"Katara, you need to get him out of here."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked.

"There's no way you can carry us both," Jet said firmly. "and he's more important than me."

"I can't just leave you behind!" Katara protested.

"There's no time. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Jet attempted to give a reassuring smile.

Katara appeared as though she wanted to argue further, but knew that Jet was right. After a brief pause, she bent up a column of water, carrying herself and Aang to safety.

Jet walked back to Iroh's side, and dropped his swords in resignation. Noticing that the Avatar was gone, Iroh lowered his arms. Immediately, Dai Li agents imprisoned the two in crystal. Jet glared at Zuko, a look of loathing on his face, but Zuko wasn't looking at him. Zuko was looking at his uncle, who gave him a look of stern disapproval before turning his head away in shame.

* * *

Author's Note: And so ends my version of the Season 2 finale. But the story isn't over yet.

Sorry I cut the fight short, but what I had in mind wasn't really different enough from the canon to justify putting it all into writing. You've all seen the show, you all know what happens, and I wanted to concentrate on the areas where my story differs from the canon.

Just as a heads up, I will try to maintain weekly updates, but I cannot guarantee it. So, while I will try to have the next chapter up by next week, there may be a slightly longer gap between updates, depending on how things go.

Anyways, feel free to leave a review telling me what you thought. Even if you hated my story, let me know why, I appreciate any and all feedback.


	8. Fire

Jet stared grimly at the island as it drew nearer and nearer to the boat. He felt restless, but maintained his composure. His fellow prisoners also remained silent, with the only sounds being the water moving around the boat, and the occasional sound of chains knocking against one another as they swayed in the wind. The guards were closely watching them, almost daring the prisoners to make a move, but none of them did. Jet could tell from their expressions that most of them had already been broken.

But he hadn't. Not yet anyway.

As soon as the boat docked, the prisoners were filed out, ordered to march along a path up the steep slope of the island, and clambered onto a gondola at the top, which would take them down to the center of the island.

Jet looked out of the gondola, and could see that, apart from the mass of land in the center, the entire crater of the island was filled with water. He'd heard rumors that the water was far too hot to attempt to swim across, and from the heat that he could feel coming off of the water even as high up as he was, he knew that the rumors had not been exaggerating.

He shifted his gaze forward, and saw the rising steel walls that made up the prison, with many guard towers scattered throughout the perimeter. It didn't look any more intimidating than the prison he'd come from, but he could tell just from the location that it would be much more difficult to escape. He narrowed his eyes in distaste.

The gondola reached the bottom, and the prisoners walked out of the gondola, arranged in a row. After looking over them, the Warden walked up and began pacing back and forth.

"I'm sure you all know why you are here." The Warden said, his voice authoritative and cold. "You were all kept at the Fire Nation's Capital prison, an honor that you ought to have appreciated. If you had served your time well, you might have eventually restored your standing before the Fire Lord himself, and regained your freedom."

Jet let out a small snicker. He very much doubted that. And even if it was true, it likely only applied to Fire Nation citizens, not prisoners of war such as himself.

The Warden either didn't notice Jet's snicker, or chose to ignore it.

"But instead, you have all made repeated and foolish attempts to escape, or to otherwise avoid your rightful punishment. And so, you have all been brought here in order to learn the errors of your ways."

The Warden scanned each of the prisoners, his eyes lingering on Jet for a fraction of a second longer than the others, before continuing.

"This is the Fire Nation's most exemplary prison. Ever since it was built at the beginning of Fire Lord Ozai's reign, no one has ever escaped. I intend to keep it that way, and I would sooner throw myself into the boiling lake than let that record be broken."

Something like a smile appeared on the Warden's face.

"However, so long as you cooperate and obey the rules, there is no reason why your stay here should be too unpleasant. The Fire Nation rewards good behavior, and if you demonstrate that you are willing to reform, there will be benefits. If you disobey, however, there will be consequences, and whatever punishments you may have faced at the Capital, they are nothing compared to what we do to troublesome prisoners here."

Several of the guards grinned, and a few of them conjured small fireballs in their palms, their expressions full of malice.

Jet felt slightly sick at the implications, but forced himself to not betray any signs of fear. He glanced off to the side, tuning out the rest of the Warden's speech.

"…that is all for now. Do you understand?"

Most of the prisoners nodded or mumbled their assent, but a few, including Jet, said nothing.

Narrowing his eyes, the Warden singled out Jet, stepping in front of him.

"I said, do you understand?" He repeated, a warning in his voice.

Jet continued to look off to the side, defiantly ignoring the Warden.

"What's the matter? Do you not know how to speak?" The Warden sneered. "Don't think playing dumb will fool me. I know fully well who you are, Jet. You're the one who's been causing most of the trouble for the Capital prison these past few months. Be warned, my young friend, that I will be watching you closely, and I will immediately stamp out any signs of rebellion or attempts to circumnavigate the rules. Do I make myself clear?"

Jet continued to act as though he could not hear the Warden, and did not acknowledge his presence at all.

His temper finally getting the best of him, the Warden smacked Jet in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and let out an involuntary gasp of pain. Jet placed a hand on the left side of his face, trying to maintain his composure.

The Warden stood over him. "You will learn respect in time. One way or another." He turned to his subordinates. "Get them all out of my sight."

The Warden strode off, and the prisoners were filed down into the heart of the Boiling Rock.

* * *

His face still stung from the blow he'd received from the Warden, and though Jet didn't have a mirror available, he could tell that it was already heavily bruised. He touched his face gingerly, trying to ignore the pain.

He'd been shown to his cell, which was even smaller than the one he'd had at the Fire Nation Capital, but at least he had some privacy. The prisoners spent most of their time in their cell, and their time outside of the cell was closely monitored and regulated. At the moment, he was in line for dinner, his stomach growling with displeasure at the wait.

He'd been worried that he would have to prove that he was tough, and therefore not someone to mess with, but most of the prisoners had a weary air about them, and nobody really tried to bother him. He'd only seen one prisoner who still seemed to have some fight in him, and he had quickly been dragged away by the guards.

Jet made his way to the front of the line, and accepted the tray of food in sullen silence. It wasn't anything appealing, but it was no worse than what had been available at the Capital.

Most of the prisoners had found groups to eat with, but Jet, not feeling like socializing with Fire Nation criminals, sat at a table by himself. He hadn't seen any other prisoners of war like himself yet, and he was hoping that would change.

"I see the Warden gave you one of his tradition greetings."

Jet looked up to see who had spoken, and found himself looking at a brown haired girl who looked about his age.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Jet shook his head, and the girl sat down across from him.

"Welcome to the Boiling Rock." The girl said with an ironic smile.

Jet smiled bitterly, then looked back at the girl.

"My name is Suki." The girl continued. "What's yours?"

"Jet." Jet mumbled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Jet. There aren't too many people our age here in the prison, and it's always nice to see a fresh face who isn't from the Fire Nation."

Jet looked at her carefully. "So, you aren't from the Fire Nation?"

Suki shook her head. "No, I'm from Kyoshi island."

"Kyoshi island…would you happen to know any of the Kyoshi warriors?"

Suki looked surprised. "As a matter of fact, I would, seeing as I'm their leader."

Jet looked momentarily stunned. "Wait, you're the leader of the Kyoshi warrior's? So, are you the one that Aang and Sokka were talking about?"

It was Suki's turn to look stunned. "Wait, you know Aang and Sokka?"

"Yeah." Jet responded excitedly. "I met them when they were traveling through the Earth Kingdom, and then again in Ba Sing Se."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Suki exclaimed. "I never would have guessed we have so many friends in common."

Jet and Suki smiled for a moment, but then Suki's expression became serious, and slightly anxious.

"I've…heard rumors…about what happened in Ba Sing Se…to Aang…" Suki paused, and could tell that Jet knew what she was talking about.

"Do you know anything about it?" She asked earnestly.

Jet sighed, clenching and unclenching his fist. "Yes, I'm afraid I do know about it. I was there when it happened."

Suki's eyes widened. "So…is it true…is Aang dead? And…what about Sokka? What about the others?"

Jet looked down at his food. "Truthfully, I don't know. I believe that Katara, Sokka, and the others were able to get away, but I don't know for sure. As for Aang…he looked pretty bad last I saw him."

Noticing the sadness in Suki's face, Jet hurriedly added. "But it's not certain. I know that Katara has some Spirit Water from the North Pole, and that it can heal otherwise fatal wounds, so he might still be alive."

"But you don't know for sure." Suki stated.

"No, I don't." Jet admitted. "But there's at least a chance."

Suki let out a breath. "Well, that's something at least."

Feeling as though he should do more to reassure her, he added. "There's also an invasion of the Fire Nation that Sokka was planning."

Suki looked up sharply. "What?"

"Sometime in the near future, there's going to be a solar eclipse, and it will render the firebenders vulnerable. He was planning on striking then, as it's our best shot of catching the Fire Nation by surprise."

Suki looked serious. "But, with Ba Sing Se conquered, where would they get a big enough force to be able to invade?"

"I don't know." Jet admitted. "But if anyone could find a way, it's Sokka."

"Yeah," Suki said wistfully. "He can be amazing at times."

After a brief pause, Jet said. "Out of curiosity, are you and Sokka together?"

Her cheeks flushed slightly, but otherwise she maintained her composure. "Oh, yes, we are. Well, sort of. I mean, it's hard to be with anyone when you're locked up in here, isn't it."

Jet smiled ironically. "I suppose it is."

He sighed inwardly. _Well, since she's with Sokka, I suppose it wouldn't be very nice of me to try and steal her away from him, seeing as I still owe him for opening my eyes. But damn, it's not every day you meet a girl like this, and once again I can't do anything about it. Well, I can't do much about anything, being locked up here…_

"I was wondering…" Suki interrupted Jet's thoughts. "If Katara and Sokka got away okay, and you were with them, how did you get captured?"

Jet stiffened, and a rush of unpleasant memories flooded back into his mind. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to go a single day without dwelling on what had happened in Ba Sing Se. He supposed it couldn't hurt to tell her about it.

"Things might have turned out differently," he said quietly. "but everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. And the key moment…"

He paused, a white hot rage filling him as he remembered.

"It was Princess Azula and a man named Jingwei versus Aang, Katara, and myself. We had them outnumbered, and we might have won. But then…" he clenched his fist. "Prince Zuko showed up."

"Prince Zuko?" Suki said.

"Yes." He said, trying to keep his voice even. "I thought at first he might join us. He'd seemed like he was confused, and wanted to do the right thing despite his troubled past. But when the time came, he turned against us, and placed his so called honor above all else."

He still burned with anger whenever he thought of that moment. The young man he had believed to be a friend, whom he had still had hope in after learning he was Fire Nation, had reduced it all to ashes, and tossed him aside without a thought if it meant getting the Avatar.

"It was only a lucky chance that Katara and Aang were able to get away." He continued. "Iroh, Zuko's uncle, turned against his own family, and protected them, allowing them the time to get away. I wasn't able to escape with them, however, and both me and him were captured."

He'd remembered how shocked he'd been at Iroh's actions. In truth, what happened between him and Zuko might have been enough to push him back to the dark place of hatred he'd been in if it hadn't been for Iroh's intervention.

"Iroh…he seemed even more upset about what had happened than me. He had believed in Zuko, and confessed that he felt like he had failed, given that he had been unable to convince Zuko to do the right thing."

Suki looked thoughtful. "I never would have thought that a member of the Royal family would have the conviction to stand against their own people."

"I know," Jet muttered. "but he did. And…it helped me to remember that, though the Fire Nation has done evil things, there are still good people on both sides. But…it's hard, to not just hate everyone in the Fire Nation, given all that they've done to the world and to me personally."

Suki's expression softened. "I understand. It's tough to not give in to hatred. But being here, it's helped me to see the Fire Nation in another light."

Her gaze roamed around the room. "About half of the prisoners here are hardened criminals who deserve to be here. But the other half is comprised of people who had the guts to stand up against their Nation's wrongdoings. That man over there…" She said, pointing out an older man. "is Shyu, he was a Fire Sage who defied the Fire Lord and helped Aang communicate with Avatar Roku. And that man over there." She continued, pointing to another prisoner on the other side of the room. "is Chey, he was traveling with Jeong Jeong the deserter, a high ranking Fire Nation officer who abandoned their army when he couldn't take the madness of the war any longer. And that man over there," she finished, pointing to a taller prisoner. "is Chit Seng, he was part of a protest that dared to question the war in the heart of the Capital. He may not be very bright, but he's no coward."

She leaned back, a slightly hopeful smile on her face. "So you see, even the people of the Fire Nation are waking up. There's still hope."

Jet returned the smile. "I suppose there is."

They chatted for a bit longer, with Jet talking about his numerous escape attempts from the Capital prison, and Suki talking about the time she'd spent with the other Kyoshi warriors before being sent to the Boiling Rock. They reminisced about the past, and jokingly talked about ways to escape from the Boiling Rock, which were fun to talk about even if they knew they wouldn't work.

When they were escorted back to their cells, they did so feeling lighter than before. Though things still looked grim, at least they could struggle through it together.

* * *

Author's Note: I haven't rigged the review button to explode, just so you know. I can tell that there are people who are reading and enjoying this story, but from my end all I can see are numbers on a graph. Even if you don't like my story, a critique would still be better than no input at all. I'm not going to hold the story hostage for reviews or anything silly like that, but they'd be nice.

I've realized that this story has become very Jet centered, but I suppose it makes sense. Zuko's character was explored a great deal in the show, while Jet's was not, and it's been kind of nice to explore an avenue the show was foolish enough to throw away.


	9. The Boiling Rock Part 1

As he served tea to his new friends, Zuko was feeling at peace. It was an odd feeling, as he usually felt on edge or out of place, but somehow, here with the Avatar and his friends at the Western Air Temple, he felt comfortable.

They were an odd group, to say the least. You had Aang, the Avatar himself; Katara and Sokka, the two water tribe siblings; Toph, the blind earth bending prodigy; Smellerbee, the small but fierce young warrior; Longshot, the sharp but quiet bowman; The Duke, the young man with a rather unusual name; Haru, the skilled earthbending villager (though not as strong as Toph); Teo, the cripple with a taste for flying; their two animal companions, Appa and Momo; and of course himself, the traitor prince who was now teaching the Avatar firebending.

He never would have imagined himself being a part of such a motley group, but knowing that he was at last on the right path made him feel more at home than he ever had at the Fire Nation. He stilled squirmed with guilt when he considered what he had put a lot of his new friends through in the past, but tried to brush these feelings aside and focus on what he was doing now.

Aang was the only one he was truly friendly with at this point, but the others were beginning to open up to him. Sokka and Toph acted fairly normally around him now, and while Haru and Teo seemed a little tense around him, they still acted perfectly polite, and had gradually lowered their defenses.

Not all of them had opened up, however. Though she had grudgingly started to act nicer towards him after their trip to the Sun Warriors, Katara still kept her distance from the young prince. Smellerbee also acted rather coldly towards Zuko, given how he had betrayed Jet, and had convinced Longshot and The Duke to keep their distance as well.

But the looks of suspicion and distrust had gradually subsided, and the atmosphere of the group had become more comfortable. He knew it was only a matter of time before they all realized he was truly on their side, and in the meantime was doing all he could to prove it.

His only regret was what he had had to do to Mai. It pained him to leave her, and a part of him had wanted to try to convince her to come with him. But he knew that convincing her was unlikely, and in any case he didn't want her to be painted with the same brush as him. She would be much safer away from him, but it didn't make him feel any better about it.

Still, on the whole, things were going much better for him than they had in a long time, and he was determined to keep it going.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

Zuko's thoughts were interrupted by Sokka's question. Without waiting for an answer, Sokka stood up and walked away from the fire. After a brief pause, Zuko followed him.

"So, what's up?" Zuko asked.

Looking uncharacteristically serious, Sokka replied. "If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?"

"What do you mean? Who was captured?"

"When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken." Sokka said. "I just want to know where they might be."

Zuko closed his eyes. "I can't tell you."

Sokka glanced sharply at Zuko. "What? Why not?"

"Trust me. Knowing would just make you feel worse." Zuko turned to walk away, but Sokka stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

"It's my Dad. He was captured too." Sokka said, slightly anxious. "I need to know what I put him through."

"It's not good Sokka." Zuko said grimly.

"Please." Sokka said.

Zuko hesitated. "My guess is... they were taken to the Boiling Rock."

* * *

"So, do you have any new ideas for how we can escape?" Suki asked.

It was at the lunch hour, and all of the prisoners were gathered in the dining area. As had become their routine, Suki and Jet sat at a table by themselves, and discussed their plans in hushed tones.

Suki had convinced Jet to hold off on any escape attempts until they had come up with something they were sure would work. Given how tight security was, and how the Warden was keeping an eye on troublesome prisoners such as Jet, they couldn't afford the consequences of any failed escape attempts.

But unfortunately, they had failed to come up with any good plans, and the despair that they might spend the rest of their lives there was slowly creeping in.

They had quickly figured out that there were only two possible ways out; across the lake, and riding the gondola. But both routes posed innumerable problems.

The only way they could go across the lake would be if they had a boat, or something equivalent. But there was nothing of the sort in the prison. The only boats on the island were on the other side of the lake, and were only ever used if the gondolas were unavailable.

That left the gondolas, but that was hardly a viable option. They were heavily guarded, so getting onto them would be virtually impossible. The only way they could think of that might work would be if they took a hostage, but one day they overheard the Warden speaking to some new recruits, and he made it clear that even if some prisoners took a hostage, he would do whatever it took to prevent an escape, even if it meant sacrificing the hostage.

So, at this point, they only really talked about escaping in order to keep up their morale, rather than because they actually thought it was possible.

"Not really." Jet responded. "There's got to be something, though. Something we've overlooked."

"Yeah." Suki agreed. "But, I just can't think of anything."

Their conversation trailed into silence, and they tried to focus on eating, and avoid thinking about their situation.

They'd heard a few snippets that could possibly be of use. They knew that the coolers were used to punish firebenders, and that such a device could be used to counter the lake's boiling temperature, though they had no idea how they could use this to their advantage. They also knew that a large group of prisoners had recently attempted to escape, and that the attempt had failed. But before they were caught, Chit Seng took the blame for the attempt, and he ended up being the only one punished. Now a good portion of the prison population felt they owed him a debt. This could also prove to be useful, but they weren't sure if they could get Chit Seng to cooperate with them.

In addition to these snippets, they'd heard a few rumors about what was happening in the outside world. The invasion on the Day of Black Sun had been soundly crushed, and while Jet knew that it probably wouldn't have worked with Ba Sing Se conquered, it was still a blow nonetheless. However, there were two pieces of good news as well. One was that the Avatar was alive, and had fought at the invasion, and had managed to escape along with a few others. The other was that Prince Zuko had turned against the Fire Nation, and was planning to join the Avatar, though it was unclear whether he had actually done so.

Jet had mixed feelings about the news. On the one hand, he was still very angry at the young prince, and was extremely reluctant to place faith in one who had already betrayed his trust. But if there was a chance Zuko had actually switched sides this time…

In the end, he'd decided it didn't matter. He was still locked up in prison, and there was nothing he could do to help anyone.

Jet glanced up at Suki, then off to the side while letting out a small sigh.

_At this rate, the only way we'll get out of here is if someone comes to rescue us. And there's no way that would happen…_

* * *

Zuko was feeling on edge. This was by far the riskiest situation he had ever gotten himself into, and there were no guarantees that he would be able to get out of it. The only reason he'd gone through with it was so that Sokka wouldn't be alone.

He shook himself. He couldn't afford to dwell on the possibility of failure; he just had to focus on what he needed to do.

Spotting Sokka looking out over the prison yard, he walked towards him.

"Hey there, fellow guard. How goes it?"

Raising his visor, Sokka replied "Zuko?"

"Shh!" Zuko said anxiously. "Listen, I asked around the lounge. There are no Water Tribe prisoners."

Zuko raised his visor. "I'm afraid your Father's not here."

Sokka's expression becomes shocked. "What? Are you sure? Did you double check?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Zuko replied, glancing downwards.

"No." Sokka walked to the wall and banged his fists against it, his head hung in despair. "No!"

"I'm really sorry Sokka."

"So we came all this way for nothing?" Sokka said miserably. "I failed. Again."

Zuko held his chin thoughtfully. "Err, what would Uncle say?"

Zuko glanced up at the sky. "Sometimes clouds have two sides, a dark and light. And a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich. So, when life seems hard, take a bite out of the silver sandwich."

Sokka rushed to the side of the railing. "Maybe we haven't failed after all."

Zuko smiled. "That's the spirit!" Glancing off to the side, he murmured. "I can't believe that worked. I didn't even know what I was saying."

"No, what you said made no sense at all. But look," Sokka pointed across the prison yard. "It's Suki!"

* * *

Jet was feeling more optimistic that he had for a long time.

A short while ago, Suki had come to him and informed him that two people had snuck in, disguised as guards, and were going to help them break out. To top it all off, one of them was Sokka.

Jet shook his head. He never would have thought anyone would be able to sneak into the Boiling Rock in such a fashion, but he wasn't surprised to hear that Sokka had pulled it off.

Not that it was over yet. Sokka may have gotten inside of the prison, but getting out of it again, with two prisoners no less, would be no small feat. He'd also felt slightly nervous when Suki had mentioned that Sokka's friend had been discovered, and was now a prisoner like them. Still, their chances of getting out were much better now than they had ever been, and Jet was ready to make an escape attempt.

He was walking to one of the lower levels, as that was where Suki had told him they would be meeting Sokka and his friend. As he reached the top of the stairs that led down to the meeting area, he saw two prisoners mopping the floor, and being observed by a guard.

He recognized one of the prisoners instantly as Suki, and assumed that the guard was Sokka, and the other prisoner was Sokka's friend.

Noticing Jet, Suki raised her hand in greeting. "Hey Jet!"

"Jet?" Sokka and the other prisoner repeated, turning to look at the young ruffian with bewildered expressions.

Upon seeing the prisoner's face, Jet froze. A flash of recognition and guilt swept through Zuko's face as he stared at Jet, and Jet's expression became furious.

"You!" Jet said loudly, drawing the stares of nearby prisoners, but before he could say anything further, Sokka rushed towards Jet with frantic gestures.

"Shh!" Sokka said urgently. "Keep it down!"

"What is he doing with you?" Jet's tone remained furious, but he obediently dropped his volume down to a whisper.

"He's on our side now. I know it's hard to believe, but he has changed, and I never would have made it inside without his help."

"He's the entire reason why I was locked up here in the first place!" Jet hissed.

Suki stepped up. "I know you two have a bad history, but Sokka wouldn't vouch for him if he wasn't confident in him. And we did hear those rumors about him turning against his Father on the Day of Black Sun. I think we need to trust him, at least for the moment."

Jet remained silent for a moment, then inclined his head. "Fine. I'll go along with this, but only because I trust you Sokka."

Sokka smiled. "Great. Now, let's go over here. I have a plan…"

Sokka, Suki, Zuko, and Jet walked over to the corner to hear Sokka's plans, but Jet and Zuko found themselves unable to look the other in the eye.

* * *

Zuko was not having the best of days. Not only had he snuck into a high security prison, he'd also been caught, been recognized as the prince, and met not one, but two people who had a grudge with him. To top it off, one of them had been Jet, someone he had used to be friends with, but who was now alternating between shooting him glares and ignoring him completely.

He'd known that he would have difficulties winning people's trust once he switched sides, but he'd thought he'd cleared the worst of it now that he was on good terms with Aang. But it seemed that the universe still liked to play cruel tricks on him, and was perfectly content to continue shoving his past failures in his face.

He knew that Jet was angry with him, and he had a right to be, but any explanation or apology would have to wait until after they escaped.

If they escaped, that is. Against his better judgment, he had convinced Sokka to stay behind and see if his dad was one of the incoming prisoners of war. Once Sokka had made his decision, Zuko told him he would also stay behind to help.

To his surprise, Suki and Jet also insisted on staying behind. Only Chit Seng decided to escape.

In the end, it turned out that they made the right decision. Not only did Chit Seng's escape attempt fail, but Sokka's dad was indeed one of the prisoners of war.

"Dad." Sokka said softly.

Suki reached out to squeeze his hand. Jet and Zuko stared up at the prison with determined expressions.

_So we finally found what we originally came for. Now we'll have to see if we can all make it out of here alive._


	10. The Boiling Rock Part 2

Zuko, Sokka, Jet, Suki, Hakoda, and Chit Seng all dashed across the bridge, making their way to the gondolas as fast as they could. The prison riot would keep most of the guards busy, but they knew their time was limited.

Suki shouted a word of encouragement to the group, which was well received by all of them except the warden, who looked extremely unhappy, bound and gagged over Chit Seng's shoulder.

They made it most of the way to the gondolas before they encountered any resistance, most of the guards occupied by the riot, but a small group remained, and proceeded to firebend at the incoming prisoners.

Without hesitation Zuko leaped to the fore and blocked the fiery blasts. As the guards paused to contemplate their next move, Zuko declared. "Back off, we've got the Warden," gesturing behind him, the Warden peering anxiously at his subordinates.

Seeing the Warden was a hostage, the guards reluctantly let the group through, though each side eyed the other warily.

As soon as they were past the guards, they quickly made their way onto the gondola, with only Sokka and Zuko hanging back to keep an eye on the guards.

Once he saw that everyone else was aboard, Sokka turned to Zuko and said "You go on ahead."

Zuko looked at Sokka with surprise, and looked as though he wanted to protest, but merely nodded, and joined the others on the gondola.

As soon as he saw that everyone was on board, Sokka pushed the lever to the gondola down, and it slowly began to move up and away. Instead of running to catch the gondola, however, Sokka stayed and kicked the lever several times in an effort to break it. The first few times failed, and the guards began to close in, but the third kick succeeded in dismantling the lever, and Sokka quickly leaped off the edge of the platform to reach the gondola.

His leap was just long enough to enable Zuko to reach out to catch him, but one of the guard's bursts of fire managed to catch Sokka on the leg, and he cried out in pain as he was brought into the relative safety of the gondola.

Zuko quickly put out the fire with one quick motion of his hand, then turned to look at Sokka with incredulity.

"What were you thinking?" Zuko demanded.

Sokka grimaced in pain, but stared determinedly back at the young prince. "I'm making it so they can't stop us."

Zuko's expression softened as comprehension came, and Jet remarked "Way to plan ahead Sokka."

Sokka smiled at Jet, then winced as Zuko examined his leg more closely.

"The burn doesn't look deep, but I would recommend against putting any weight on that leg for a while." Zuko stated.

Everyone looked slightly relieved at this news, and Suki added "Well, we're on our way now."

"Wait." Hakoda's said sharply. "Who's that?" He gestured out the window.

Zuko walked over to the end of the gondola, and looked back at the receding island. His expression became shocked, then resigned.

"That's a problem." He said grimly. "It's my sister and her friend."

Azula and Ty Lee quickly began to make their way towards the gondola, determined to prevent the prisoners from escaping, while the gondola's occupants prepared for battle.

"This is a rematch I've been waiting for." Suki said, her expression fierce.

"Me too." Zuko said, more quietly, and the two of them climbed onto the roof of the gondola.

Jet started to follow, but paused as Sokka motioned him over.

"Jet, here, you can borrow my sword." Sokka said, holding it out.

Jet looked mildly surprised. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Sokka replied. "I mean, I can't exactly use it at the moment, and you'll need a weapon when going up against a firebender."

Jet's face darkened briefly, but he quickly accepted Sokka's sword and climbed out to join Zuko and Suki.

As Azula and Ty Lee neared the gondola, they split off, with Ty Lee landing near the back and squaring off against Suki, while Azula landed towards the front and faced off against Zuko and Jet.

Ty Lee made quick, agile strikes at Suki, but Suki had not neglected her training while in prison, and was able to hold her own against the acrobatic girl.

Azula, meanwhile, was able to battle against her two opponents with relative ease, but Zuko and Jet found a good rhythm to their attacks, with Zuko blocking Azula's fire, and Jet swiping with the sword whenever there was an opening.

The battle continued on for several minutes, with neither side able to gain an advantage. After a while, they could hear the warden shouting something, but in the heat of battle they paid it no attention.

They did notice, however, when the gondola abruptly halted and swung precariously, throwing friend and foe alike off balance. Jet nearly slid off, but Zuko managed to catch his hand, and Azula was too preoccupied with keeping her balance to take advantage of their vulnerable position.

Ty Lee climbed up to the top of the gondola to peer back at the island, and abruptly yelled in alarm. "They're about to cut the line!"

Azula's face initially looked panicked, but then became calm and cold as she saw the other gondola coming down.

"Then it's time to leave." Azula said with a rather nasty smile.

She propelled herself towards the other gondola with her firebending, and called back. "Goodbye, Zuko."

Ty Lee shortly followed, though her expression was more troubled.

With nothing left to do, the three combatants climbed back into the interior of the gondola.

"They're cutting the line." Zuko said earnestly. "The gondola's about to go!"

"I hope this thing floats." Hakoda said grimly.

But all of them knew that was not going to happen, and waited, dreading the moment when the line was cut and they would be plunged to their death.

Yet that moment never came. After a few minutes, the gondola abruptly began to move upwards again. Confused, they looked back on the island to see it in a state of utter disarray, with one unknown assailant standing against the guards.

"Who is that?" Jet asked curiously.

Zuko looked down on the island, and his eyes widened as he made eye contact with their unexpected rescuer.

"It's Mai!" he said, sounding more shocked than relieved.

Before long, the gondola made it to the top, and the former prisoners quickly filed out.

Hakoda turned back to the warden, and said with a hint of irony. "Sorry warden, your record is officially broken."

* * *

Upon locating Azula's airship, their escape became assured, and before long the boiling rock was a receding point in the distance.

Suki went below deck to tend to Sokka's leg, while Hakoda and Chit Seng stayed up front to fly the airship. This left Zuko and Jet alone on the bridge, and for a few minutes, they didn't speak.

Abruptly they both said "Look, I…", "I want to…" then paused again when they realized they were speaking at the same time.

"You can go first." Zuko said quietly.

Jet's expression softened slightly. "I'm…grateful that you helped me to escape, and there is a fair amount of evidence that suggests you're truly on our side this time."

Zuko glanced at Jet, then looked away again.

Jet continued. "But…I trusted you once before, and…"

"And you ended up regretting it." Zuko muttered, his head bowed.

"Well…yeah. So, if you don't mind…could you at least tell me…why?"

Zuko sighed. "It's a rather long story."

Jet gave a slight smile. "It'll be a long flight."

Zuko nodded absently. "Well, I guess…it all started with this." He gestured at his scar.

Jet looked at it with interest. "Your scar, huh? How did you get it?"

Zuko bowed his head. "I got it from my father."

Jet's eyes widened. "What?"

"My father gave me this scar." Zuko repeated, a little louder.

From there, Zuko explained to Jet the circumstances of his banishment, and his subsequent journey to find the Avatar, and how it all came to a head in Ba Sing Se.

"…and so, I'd thought I had begun to change for the better, but when Azula came, and offered me the thing I had desired for so long…I took it."

Jet remained silent for a moment, then said. "But, then, what made you change your mind again?"

Zuko shook his head. "Even though I'd gotten what I wanted, it didn't make me any happier; In fact, it only made me feel even more lost."

Zuko then explained how he'd eventually realized that the only way to feel better was to do the right thing, and that was why he'd joined with the Avatar.

A moment of silence passed between the two young men, as Jet processed Zuko's story and Zuko waited for Jet's reaction.

Finally, Jet said. "Well…I understand better now…and I'm sorry for being harsh earlier."

"You had a right to be." Zuko said quietly.

"Still…" Jet cleared his throat. "You've made some mistakes, but so did I, and we both turned out okay in the end."

"I took longer than you to come to terms with my mistakes." Zuko said.

"But I didn't have quite as rough a time as you." Jet replied. "Losing my family was hard, but having a family that treats you like that…it's no wonder you struggled."

Zuko shrugged, offering no further comment.

After a pause, Jet asked. "So, who was that, the person who saved us at the end?"

Zuko winced. "That was Mai. She's…my girlfriend."

Jet also winced. "Oh. I'm sorry. But, surely they won't hurt her, will they?"

"I don't know." Zuko sighed. "Her uncle is the warden, so he'll probably try to protect her. But...you saw what Azula was like. She doesn't forgive betrayals easily, especially not ones as serious as this."

Zuko went silent, with a brooding look on his face. Jet's expression softened, and he walked up to Zuko and put his hand on his shoulder. Zuko looked at him in surprise.

"While I can't forget your earlier betrayal, I can see that you've truly changed this time, and so I won't hold it against you anymore. It may take some time, but I hope that, in time, we may be able to be friends once more."

Zuko smiled slightly. "Thanks."

Jet returned the smile, then continued on past Zuko. "Well, I'm going to check and see how Sokka is doing."

With that remark, he descended to the lower level, leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Author's Note: I am really, really sorry about the long delay. It wasn't my intention to take this long, but between writer's block, uncertainty about how to approach this chapter, and some personal crises, there ended up being a longer delay between this chapter and the others. But I got it out eventually.

Just as a heads up, this story will probably be going on hiatus for a while. I know that's not what you want to hear, but I'm kind of burned out on this particular story, and there are some other things I want to work on. I wanted to get at least this far, as it's a relatively good stopping place, but I did want to let you know that it will almost certainly be a while before the next update.

The story isn't dead, though, I want to make that clear. As far as it is within my power, I will try to never leave any story I've started unfinished.


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